Third Generation
by nene9131
Summary: Jacqueline Setrakian. Granddaughter, survivor, vampire hunter. When her parents are murdered in cold blood she joins her grandfather on his crusade to hunt down and destroy the Master. Jacqueline's not the only one doing hunting someone's after her. She holds a secret that makes her a target. How will she survive?
1. Night Zero

**Night Zero**

A small child laid in her bed but she was not sleeping. She had the covers pulled up to her chin as she shivered under the sheets. A storm was raging outside, and the hard rain pelted her window. A storm, even a harsh one like this, isn't what frightened the young girl. It was the loud sounds coming from downstairs.

Once she heard the sound of glass breaking she had gotten out of her bed to check it out. As she peeked through her door her father came by holding a weapon, he spotted his daughter and told her to stay in her room. Listening to her father she closed the door, but leaned against it resting her ear on the door trying to hear whatever she could. She jumped when she heard her father shout out. She heard the sounds of fighting and yelling, then a loud shriek went out followed by a thud and then it was silent. She heard the sound heavy footsteps coming upstairs, she bent down to look under the door and her eyes widened when she saw the shadow of a large creature glide by. It headed off in the direction of her parent's room, where her mother was. She heard her mother call out thinking it was her husband. The little girl peeked out the door when she heard her mother shriek. Her eyes widened when she saw a large cloaked figure in front of her mother, but really scared her was the tongue-like appendage that was latched onto her neck. The little girl's mouth was wide open with terror as she saw her mother's face grew paler and paler by the second. The woman's mouth was open gasping for the air that would not come. She locked eyes with her daughter, and mouthed out the words run.

Giving one last look to her mother she bolted out her bedroom door. The creature that held her mother dropped her and the woman landed with a loud thud on the floor. Her eyes going lifeless as she watched her only child run for her life.

The little girl ran down the hallway as quickly as her little legs could, when she spotted the top of the stairs she let out a yelp as she tripped on a rug. She landed hard on her face, and quickly tried to pick herself up, but she stopped when she heard a growl mixed with clicking noises. On her hands and knees, she slowly turned around to see the cloaked figure. She let out a scream as she spotted blood red eyes. She scooted away from the monster as tears started to fall down her face.

"It's good to finally meet you, Kleine," The creature said

He slowly pulls down his hood revealing his face to the girl.

"I've been waiting a long time to finally meet you besonderes," The man said stepping closer.

"S-Strigoi," The girl said lowly.

"Ahhh, so he's been telling you stories. Tell me Kleine what has the old man told you?" The monster asked

The girl scoots back further finally getting on her feet, "You are a monster. You hurt people."

"Hmmm is that all?" He asked

"What did you do to Papa?" The girl asked

The man let out a sinister smile and instantly her she knew what had happened. She slowly crept back trying to make her way downstairs. The creature stepped forward getting closer to the girl and as he did so she reached towards the collar of her shirt.

"Now where do you think you're going besonderes? As Ive said Ive been waiting a long time for you and so has someone else," The man said stepping forward.

"My Bunic, told me more than just stories," The girl said reaching into her shirt.

"And what is that kleine?" The monster asked getting close to the girl's face.

"That you can't handle this!"

The little girl grasped the Star of David that hung around her neck and yanked it breaking the chain off she threw it as the creature's face and once it made contact it let out an otherworldly shriek as the silver necklace burned his face.

The little girl took this chance to run, she made it to the stairs but luck was not her side. As she was halfway down the stairs she fell and tumbled down the stairs. She landed on her arm and let out an ear piercing scream as the bone her arm snapped. She looked up when she heard a shriek and saw the monster hanging over the banister grabbing at his face. He looked at the girl and let out another shriek. With that as motivation, she got up holding her arm and ran through the living room towards the front door. She let out a scream as she saw her father lying on the ground his body laying lifeless on the ground and his head completely twisted all the way around. With more tears pouring from her eyes she ran to the door and yanked it open running into the night. She was met with the cold rain as she ran down the street screaming. Dirt and mud caked her feet as she continued to run, she huffed and gasped for air as she kept running but didn't allow that to stop her. She heard the sound of tires screeching and saw a bright light. She let out a scream as the lights stopped in front of her and a loud horn blared.

The car door opened and a man stepped out. He came around the car spotting the small girl.

"Holy shit," The man said

He quickly ran forward and grabbed the girl. He carried her to the car and threw a blanket around her.

"Where are your parents? What are you doing out here?" The man asked

The girl just cradled her broken arm close to her chest, "Tot," The girl simply said.

The man gave the girl a strange yet sympathetic look picking up her accent.

"Don't worry I'm gonna get you somewhere safe," The man said

He started up his car and headed to the nearest hospital.

* * *

Abraham Setrakian was an old man who had seen a lot in his the age of 65 he had suffered many great losses, and as seen things, no man or woman should ever see. Even though he suffered a great deal he was lucky to receive one miracle in his life which multiplied into two miracles. So it was a great heartbreak when he received a call late at night, informing him that his only granddaughter was in the hospital and that his son was found dead in his home, with his wife missing.

Hearing the news he caught the first flight out of New York to Seattle.

* * *

Waking up in a white room was unsettling to the young girl. The memories of last night flashing through her head did nothing to settle the uneasiness in her stomach. She looked down to see her arm in a sling and immediately took it off as the nurse came in pushing a cart.

"What are you doing you need to keep that on," The nurse said with an authoritative tone.

"I don't need it," The girl said

"Yes you do," The nurse said

The nurse said putting the sling back on the girl. She walked back over to the cart she had pushed in and pulled out a covered tray.

"I don't like carrots," The girl said surprising the nurse.

"What?" The nurse questioned not understanding what she meant.

"I don't like carrots," The girl said pointing at the tray the nurse was holding.

The nurse looked down at the tray she was holding and placed it in front of the girl. She removed the cover to reveal the meal. A sandwich, a small side of soup, with another side of carrots.

The nurse gave the girl a strange look before her attention was drawn away from her by knocking at the door.

Two uniformed police officer stood at the door.

"Sorry for the interruption, but we need to speak with the girl," The Officer said

"You're gonna need to make it quick. Visiting hours are over and she needs to eat," The nurse said before walking out the room.

The two officers walked over the girl and one of the men knelt down next to her.

"Hey, there sweetie can you tell us your name?"

"Jacqueline….Jacqueline Setrakian," Jacqueline said

"That is a really pretty name. Now Jacqueline my friend and I are here to see what happened, to you. Ask you a few questions. Someone came into your home did you see who?"

Jacqueline shook her head looking down.

"Did you hear anything?"

"Screaming lots of screaming," Jacqueline said

The other officer wrote down in his notepad, but Jacqueline made sure not give any information that suggests she saw a monster.

The Officer asked her series of more questions but they all seemed pointless to her. Her Grandfather had told her that no one believed in strigoi that's why they can get away with hurting so many people. As the officer went to ask her another question another knock was heard on the door.

Everyone in the room looked up and Jacqueline's eyes widened and she hopped out of bed.

"BUNIC!" Jacqueline yelled out throwing herself at the older man.

Abraham quickly caught the small girl doing his best to stay balanced as he tried to support her weight.

"I'm assuming you know this girl?" The Officer said

"Yes I am her grandfather," Abraham said picking Jacqueline up.

Jacqueline buried her face deep into her grandfather's neck letting his familiar scent calm her.

"I've got you now. Don't worry stea mică, I've got you," Abraham said stroking the girl's hair.

"I'd hate to interrupt your moment sir but there's some things we must discuss and some paperwork that must be done," The Officer said

"Yes, yes, of course, but could you allow me just a few minutes alone with my granddaughter. She's been through a lot," Abraham said

"Yes, of course, sir. We'll be waiting outside the room," The Officer said

Once the officers left Abraham carried his granddaughter back over to the hospital bed and laid her down.

He gently stroked her hair as tears came down her face.

"What did you see?" Abraham asked

"Strigoi. He killed Papa and hurt mama," Jacqueline said, "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. There was nothing you could do," Abraham said

"I lost your gift. I threw it at the monster's face and it burned him just like you said," Jacqueline

"It is fine. You are worth much more to me than some old trinket," Abraham said kissing his granddaughter's forehead, "I feared that someday something like this would happen. I thought I had prepared your father that he was strong enough on his own but it appears I was wrong. I won't make that same mistake again. Jacqueline you are going to live with me and I promise the monster that killed your parents is going to pay, but I'm going to need your help. Can you do that?" Abraham said

Jacqueline let out sniffled and wiped her nose, "Yes grandpa."

"Very good. Now get some rest," Abraham said standing up.

* * *

 _Hunger, a poet once said, is the most important thing we know, the first lesson we learn. But hunger can be easily quieted down, easily satiated. There is another force, a different type of hunger, an unquenchable thirst that cannot be extinguished. It's very existence is what defines us, what makes us human. That force is love._

25-year-old Jacqueline Setrakian was walking down the street wearing a leotard under a coat, her coat seemed a little thin for the cold air but that didn't really bother her. She carried groceries in her hands, she stopped to pick them up on her way home from a dance rehearsal. She made her way back to grandfather's pawn shop as she turned the corner two Hispanic guys ran into her. She didn't flatter keeping her ground but the smaller guy fell back onto the ground. Jacqueline just gave them weird looks as she stepped over the smaller guy and committed to her way to the shop. As she passed by an electronics store a news story caught her attention. She stopped walking and looked stood in front of the glass window looking at the news report.

"We have more now on the developing story out of JFK Airport tonight. You're looking at live video of the airplane identified as a Regis Air widebody jet. It originated in Berlin and it shut down just moments after landing. We are told there has been no communication from the pilot. All attempts to contact the flight crew…"

"Shit…." That's all Jacqueline needed to hear before she took off running down the street.

Jacqueline quickly made her way to the pawnshop. She ran inside depositing her groceries on the counter.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! Bunic!" Jacqueline yelled out as she ran downstairs. She looked to where he grandfather normally kept his cane and saw that it was gone, "Crap." She back upstairs and pulled out her phone. She quickly dialed her grandfather's number, "Pick up, pick up. Come on," The phone went to voicemail making Jacqueline curse out hanging up the phone, "Grandpa I got you a phone for a reason!"

* * *

Not knowing how to react to the situation Jacqueline did her best to prepare when her grandfather returned. She got to work smelting down silver, jewelry, cutlery, dinnerware, and various other objects were melted down and turned into bullets. She had the tv going with news playing making sure she was updated with the news about the plane.

Jacqueline was just finishing up casting some bullets when her phone rung. She pulled up her goggles and grabbed the phone. She looked at the phone hoping it would her grandfather but all she saw was an unknown number. She answered the phone just as she looked at the TV.

Her eyes widened as she heard a voice speak over the phone.

"Hello is this a Miss Setrakian?"

"I'll pick him up," Jacqueline said before hanging up the phone.

Jacqueline did not have to hear what the man was going to tell her because on TV she saw her grandfather being carried away by the police.

Jacqueline made her way down the police station. She was just across the street from the station and as she stood at the crosswalk she saw a man standing on the other side. He was smiling at her, but here was something terribly wrong with him. His skin was all waxy and his hair was clearly a nice wig. He seemed rather familiar and even though he was smiling his she felt nothing but sinister intentions coming from him. A bus passed by and when it was gone the guy was gone.

The crosswalk light turned green and Jacqueline made her way quickly across the street and looked for where the man was, but there was nothing that indicated that he was even there. Not being able to do anything else Jacqueline continued her way to the station.

* * *

"Hello, I'm here for Mr. Setrakian. I'm his granddaughter," Jacqueline said to an officer.

The officer searched through some files and pulled one out, "Right this way mam."

Jacqueline was led through some doors until she arrived at a visitor center. He led her to one of the windows.

"He'll be out in a moment."

"Wait can't I take him home?" Jacqueline asked

"Your grandfather had been charged with disturbing the peace-"

"Well I don't think that's grounds for keeping him here," Jacqueline said

"-AND with carrying a concealed weapon. He's going to have to go in front of a judge to settle the charges."

"Oh great," Jacqueline said sitting down.

After a few moments, her grandfather was escorted out and sat in front of her. They both picked up the phone. Jacqueline was about to speak be she noticed the officer basically looming over her shoulder.

"Esti bine? Nu s-au rănit te-au făcut-o?" Jacqueline asked (1)

"Nu, sunt bine, dar Jacqueline trebuie să acționăm rapid. Am nevoie de tine pentru a ajunge la aeroport găsi cutia și să-l distrugă," Abraham said quickly. (2)

"Am înțeles, dar ce se întâmplă dacă nu e acolo?" Jacqueline asked (3)

"Atunci să ne rugăm ai făcut destule gloanțe," Abraham said (4)

* * *

Doing as her grandfather instructed Jacqueline grabbed the first taxi she could to the airport. As she got closer to the airport the worse the traffic got. Pretty soon they were at a standstill.

"I don't have time for this," Jacqueline said

She grabbed a wad of cash and threw it at the driver before hopping out the car. She booked it down the street running to the airport. As it came into view she saw the airport swamped by reporters, police, and protesters.

"Time to find a way in," Jacqueline said to herself.

Jacqueline adjusted er backpack and weapon strapped to her thigh. She made her way into the crowd and listened for any information that could help her. That when she noticed a people by the CDC trucks. She pushed her way through the crowd so she could get within earshot.

She heard bits and piece's of the conversation but caught box and warehouse.

" _So it's in the airport storage warehouse, good to know,"_ Jacqueline thought.

She snuck her way around the building staying in the shadows. Hiding from the police and security guards was much easier than she had planned. She found a wall that had a metal ladder hanging off the side. The ladder was folded up but Jacqueline jumped up and grabbed it. Unfortunately, the ladder didn't pull down like she had planned it to and she hung there.

"Okay this is gonna be hard," Jacqueline said

She reached for the next bar and pulled herself up. She climbed up the rest of the way and pulled herself over the side of the warehouse. She saw old window panels and wiped it down with the sleeve of her jacket. She peered into the building and saw exactly what she was looking for.

"Bingo," Jacqueline said

She slipped through the window and skillfully climbed her way down. She slowly made her way to the box keeping herself on high alert.

She gripped the handle of her weapon, "This ends now," With a swift pull she pulled out her weapon a long dagger. She kept up to the box and took a deep breath. She reaches for the box and pulls it open quickly raising her weapon.

"No…..no no no no no!" Jacqueline said

The box was empty.

"GAH!" Jacqueline yelled out kicking the box.

"Hey! Who's there!?"

Jacqueline looked back when she heard a man shout saw the flicker of a flashlight and ran. By the time the guard got there, there was no sign of anyone but a lone window pane was still open.

* * *

The box had gone missing and now the people of the CDC were looking at security footage to see where it had gone.

Everyone watched the screen in anticipation. They fast forward the video until Eph says stop. On the screen was small figure entered. The person was wearing a hood and a scarf wrapped around the lower half of their face obscuring their face from the people. Even though her face had been hidden they could tell it was a woman by the small stature.

"Who's that? What is she doing?" Nora questioned

They watched as the woman pulled out a knife.

"Is that a knife?" Eph questioned in disbelief.

They watched as the woman held up the knife and threw open the coffin like box's doors. Nothing happens and the woman freezes as she looks at the box. She drops her arms and stands still for a moment before she starts kicking the box.

"Well someone's angry," Jim said

"Yeah but why?" Eph pondered

Suddenly the woman's head snaps back and then she books it out of the view of the camera. A security guard comes onto to screen. He looks around and then leaves. Nothing happens for a few minutes so Eph tells the security guard to fast forward the recording. As they watch the video something flashes across the screen and the box disappeared.

"There, right there. Rewind. Can you go slower, frame by frame?" Eph asked, "There must be a gap or a cut."

"No, there's not cut. Watch the time code," The security officer said

He rewinds the video and in the span of two seconds, the coffin disappears.

"Two seconds. Go back. Start there. Wait, wait," The video is paused, "There. What's that distortion?" Eph questioned pointing at the screen.

"I don't know. It grabs the box and lifts it off...up…" The security guard said

"That box was 500 pounds. Nothing could lift it up like that," Eph said

"The old man said, 'If you have the coffin, you still have him.' Him," Nora said pointing at the screen.

"Damn it!" Jacqueline said as she got back to the pawn shop. She slammed her hands on the table in frustration. She might not have found the Master but if that officer hadn't of come she might have been able to destroy the box. Now he was probably loose somewhere in the city and her grandfather was in jail.

She looked up at a wall and saw a silver rapier resting, "When he comes I'll be ready."

Jacqueline stared at the weapon and reached for the Star of David resting around her neck, her hard glare continued as her eyes briefly flashed red.

* * *

 _Love, you see, is the one force that cannot be explained cannot be broken down into a chemical process. It is the beacon that guides us back home when no one is there and the light that illuminates our loss. Its absence robs us of all pleasure of our capacity for joy. It makes our nights darker and our days gloomier. But when we find love no matter how wrong, how sad or how terrible we cling to it. It gives us our strength. It holds us upright. It feeds on us and we feed on it. Love is our grace. Love is our downfall._

* * *

1 - Are you okay? They didn't hurt you did they?

2 - No, No, I'm fine, but Jacqueline we must act quick. I need you to get to the airport find the box and destroy him.

3 - I understand but what if it's not there?

4 - Then let us pray you made enough bullets.


	2. Gone Smooth

**Gone Smooth**

Jacqueline cracked her neck and rubbed her sore shoulders. She'd been up for almost two days with trying to finish her little project before her grandfather's trial. She made dozens of more bullets but that wasn't the bug project. After hours of work and some restoration Jacqueline had finally completed what she wanted. She slipped her project on her hand and admired her work.

"Perfect," Jacqueline said

On her hand was clawed silver gauntlet. It was brought to the shop months ago by an antique trader, it was old and rusted but with some hard work, she was able to restore it to its former glory. She took the gauntlet off and set it down on the table before resting her upper body on the table, she was exhausted but it was worth it. She slowly closed her eyes hoping to get a little shut eye before her grandfather's trial.

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*

"Ugghhhh," Jacqueline groaned out rolling off the table. Her alarm went off signaling it was time for her to leave.

"I need food," Jacqueline said

* * *

After getting something food Jacqueline made her way to the courthouse. She sat down as her grandfather was led out and to a podium.

"Criminal trespass and interference with a criminal investigation Mister uh, is it Set-RAKE-ian, Set-RACK-ian?" The Judge said trying to pronounce Abraham's last name.

"As you like, Your Honor," Abraham said

"Mr. Set-RACK-ian," At that Jacqueline rolled her eyes, "What in the name of John F. Kennedy were you doing at the airport Saturday night?" The Judge asked

"I, uh, saw a story on television about a plane that landed, I...I guess I'm not quite sure, Your Honor. I'm old an uh, things are not that clear anymore," Abraham said

"I have here that you own a pawn shop, Knickerbocker Loans and Curios on East 118th street?" The Judge said pulling out some paper.

"Yes, sir. All licensed and, uh, registered. I...I came here after World War II after the, uh, the camps were liberated," Abraham said

Whispering went off around the courtroom after Abraham's statement. Jacqueline could hear the people talking about War and she even concentration a few times.

"Anybody live with you? Any family?" The Judge asked

"I'm a widower, Your Honor," Abraham said

"Children, grandchildren?" The Judge asked

"Yes just my granddaughter Jacqueline," Abraham said pointing off to Jacqueline. She stood up and nodded her head in a greeting, "Unfortunately it is just us."

"Excuse me, Your Honor, my grandfather meant no harm. He was just trying to help. He's getting on in the years and he's been through a lot more than any person should ever experience. Sometimes things just get jumbled up, but he meant no harm," Jacqueline said

"I understand Miss Set-RACK-ian your grandfather was trespassing which is a nuisance charge, but what does concern me is this," The Judge said pulling out Abraham's cane and revealing the sword, "This is a concealed weapon, Mr. Set-RACK-ian. And we have strict laws in New York City."

"I...it, it is an antique piece, Your Honor, th...that I use for my mobility only. It is of great sentimental value, uh, a family trophy, you might say. I...I will have the blade removed and melted, y...you have my word," Abraham said

"Trade it for a nice aluminum cane with a rubber foot. Case dismissed," The Judge said banging his gavel.

"Thank you, Your Honor," Abraham said

Jacqueline smiled as she walked over to her grandfather giving him a hug.

* * *

"That was some pretty good acting back there. Except for the stuttering, you always stutter when you lie," Jacqueline said to her grandfather.

"I'll try to remember that," Abraham said

"Don't worry I've done all the prep work. All we need now is the passenger manifest," Jacqueline said

As Jacqueline and Abraham made their way down the courthouse steps a woman approached them from behind.

"How much of that was an act?" Nora asked

"Do I know you?' Abraham asked

"I'm Dr. Nora Martinez from the CDC. We met at the airport," Nora said

Hearing those words Abraham tried to walk off with Jacqueline.

"OK, I get it. You're upset," Nora said

"You're here because the bodies have disappeared," Jacqueline said

Nora looked surprised at the younger girl, "Do you know where they are?"

"We know where they're going," Abraham said

"Going? Sir, please. Come with me. Help us," Nora said

"Already it may be too late," Abraham said

"Too late for what? What was in that coffin?" Nora asked

"A thing of enormous power and terrible will. A will to devour the world and swallow the light," Abraham said

"Is the military covering it up?" Nora asked

"Oh this goes way far beyond the military," Jacqueline said

"Do not be so easily distracted. He thrives on human self-interest and bureaucratic complacency. You and Dr. Goodweather, you think that being good is enough? Being good means nothing, unless you are willing to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done," Abraham said

"OK then tell me. What needs to be done?" Nora asked

"Do you have a complete passenger manifest with you?" Jacqueline asked

"Not right here, why?" Nora asked

"Because you need to find every last passenger and destroy the bodies and anyone in contact with them," Abraham said

Nora had an exasperated look on her face as she looked away from the two.

"This is pointless. You're not ready," Abraham said

"Explain to my why, if they're already dead, we need to destroy the bodies?" Nora asked

"Listen here lady, what is happening now you might not understand but if you wanna save lives, save this city then you better get that manifest and destroy those bodies, because what is about to happen will chew you up and spit you out," Jacqueline said in a serious tone.

Nora looks at the shorter woman taken back by her words.

"Come Jacqueline, until she is willing to do what needs to be done, she is of no use to us," Abraham said walking away.

Jacqueline gives Nora one last look before walking away.

"We need those names," Abraham said to Jacqueline.

"Well then I better start making some calls," Jacqueline said

* * *

"When is this friend of yours supposed to be here?" Abraham asked

"One she's not a friend she's a contact and two-" Jacqueline stops talking when she hears a bell jingle, "There she is now."

A young teen walked into the pawn shop with a stack of papers.

"Next time, challenge me," The girl said handing Jacqueline the papers.

"Told ya she could do it," Jacqueline said handing the papers to Abraham.

"Yes, very good. Were all the names here?" Abraham asked

"Every damn passenger. You want their social security numbers? Email passwords? Facebook? Twitter? Whatever you want, I can get it," The girl asked

"Slow down, that all we need from you," Jacqueline said, "Grandpa."

"Yes, yes, here's your video-gaming waste of time," Abraham said handing the teen a PS4. The teen picked up the game station and happily kissed it.

"Enjoy," Jacqueline said

"Why do you want that list anyway?" The girl asked

"I'm going to visit their families. Pay my respects," Abraham said

The girl just gave him a strange look before walking out.

"Hey, your getting good at lying. You didn't stutter once," Jacqueline said

Abraham just patted his granddaughters head before going downstairs.

* * *

Jacqueline filled a gun with silver bullets as Abraham loaded up his nail gun. She strapped her rapier to her side and put on her gauntlet.

As Jacqueline went to walk upstairs, Abraham stopped her. He turned around and pulled open a door to a small refrigerator.

"Oh Bunic no-"

"You need it," Abraham said pulling out two small vials.

"But I don't need it. I can survive without it," Jacqueline said

"You need to be stronger to fight them off. You haven't had any in months I can tell you've been much slower and so have your reactions," Abraham said

"But-"

Abraham puts the vials in Jacqueline's hand and closes her fingers around it, "I do not wish to lose you like I lost your father. Take it."

Jacqueline let out a sigh, "Okay, but only if we're stuck in a pinch."

Abraham nodded and walked upstairs. Jacqueline looked down at her hand and looked at the two vials filled with dark red blood.

"Ready to go Bunic?" Jacqueline asked

"Ready," Abraham said

Jacqueline and Abraham set out into the city ready to stop the strigoi.


	3. Runaways

**It's Not For Everybody - Runaways**

Jacqueline and Abraham had taken a cab to the first person on the list.

"You know we didn't need to take a cab I could have driven us," Jacqueline said

"On that death machine of yours," Abraham said

"Oh you know you love my chariot of the night," Jacqueline said

"Yes, just as much as I love Strigoi," Abraham said

Jacqueline threw her head back in a laugh. It took a little while, New York traffic and all, but they finally arrived at the house. They paid the cab driver and got out.

"Okay, the first person on the list. Emma Arnot. An unaccompanied minor...poor thing," Jacqueline said reading off the list.

As they approached the house Jacqueline stopped and Abraham noticed.

"What is wrong my dear?" Abraham asked

"Someone's here already," Jacqueline said looking around. She turns her head and sees a second car in the driveway, "We need to hurry."

* * *

As they entered the house Jacqueline could hear music and then the familiar sound of a growl.

"This way," Jacqueline said running in.

Jacqueline ran downstairs and followed the sounds of screaming. She ran into a room pulling out her rapier in a swift motion she cut off the head of the turned Emma.

"Ahhh! God!" Nora screamed out.

Abraham quickly walked into the room, "Move away. He'll be right behind her. They need to find shelter before the sunrise."

As soon as he said that the turned Mr. Arnot came lumbering in.

"Get back!" Jacqueline said

"Move! Get out of the way!" Abraham said to Eph and Nora, "Sabia mea fredoneaza de argint," With swift movement Abraham chopped off his head.

"Are you OK? Are you OK?" Eph asked Nora helping her up.

Eph and Nora nodded their heads.

"Keep away from the bodies," Abraham said

"The worms avoid them at all cost, don't let them touch you," Jacqueline said

"What have you done?" Nora asked with a horrified tone.

"Among other things, we just saved your life," Abraham said

"We have resources, protocols," Nora said

"And you were doing so well on your own," Jacqueline said

"There's no other way for this," Abraham said

"I can't stay down here," Nora said running out the room.

"There are two containers full of gasoline in the garage. We have to finish this. Burn them," Abraham said

"I did always like a good bonfire," Jacqueline said

Eph had followed Nora upstairs and was now consoling her. Jacqueline went to get the gas and saw the older woman crying. Jacqueline tried to have sympathy for the weeping woman but with what she's been through she's got little sympathy to spare.

After dosing the bodies in gasoline Jacqueline came back upstairs to catch the tail end of their conversation.

"Nora, please…" Eph said

"That was a little girl in there. I mean, how old was Emma? Eight, tops? She was sick but…" Nora said

"No. She was gone. There was something inside her shell. That was a body controlled by a virus. This is what we do. The people of New York rely on us to investigate and eliminate threats to their health. And now, when it finally means something, we're gonna run?" Eph said

"I am not doing this. I'm not. I'd rather die from whatever this epidemic is than kill people!" Nora said crying

"This, it's...not for everyone," Abraham said coming into the room.

"Are you two going to murder everyone on that list of yours?" Nora asked

"Yes," Abraham said

"Yep that's the plan," Jacqueline said

"I assume you're not staying with us," Abraham said to Nora.

"No," Nora said slowing walking towards the exit.

"Please be safe. Promise me," Eph said to Nora.

"There has to be another way," Nora said turning to Eph. She gives him one last look before walking out.

"Some brains...can't adjust. I can see you love her for that...But you have to let her go," Abraham said

"She'll come around let's just hope it's not too late by then, for her sake at least," Jacqueline said

* * *

"This...scourge we're now witnessing has existed for millennia. It is a corruption of both flesh and spirit. It ravages what is human in its victim. Instills a raging thirst. That is his goal...to destroy humanity," Abraham said

"His goal? Who's he?" Eph asked

"The master," Abraham and Jacqueline said

"The master. Is that a...proper name?" Eph asked

"I suppose you might call him "patient zero". He spreads his virus through the parasites in his blood, driven by his horrible will," Abraham said

"Once you're infected there's no going back, you're a part of the master. No longer yourself, no matter how much they may seem like themselves they're a part of him," Jacqueline said

"Do you know why there are different rates of infection between the "dead" passengers and the survivors?" Eph asked

"Some people get the flu and have a sniffle," Abraham said

"And some die," Jacqueline said

"Well, this master...why would he let four passengers live?" Eph asked

"The media focuses on the miraculous survival of four as opposed to the deaths of 200, allowing the dead time to change, return home and spread the disease. The master excels at manipulation and disinformation. Which is why they created a scapegoat, the unfortunate Regis ceo," Abraham said

"So it's a disease, but it has an intelligence?" Eph questioned

"What I can say is that this was all planned," Abraham said

"It's not some coincidence the plane, the passengers, the missing box, all of it was planned by the master," Jacqueline said

"Ok. Who is he?" Eph said

"An ancient creature. Who feeds on the blood of his victims," Abraham said

"Like a vampire," Eph said

"I use the term strigoi," Abraham said

"Which is what?" Eph asked

"It's Vampire but in Romanian," Jacqueline said

"Now, take away the cape. The fangs. The accent. He's a predator, a leech, a blemish. And I know it's...it's hard to believe. Even I didn't at first," Abraham said

"How do you know all this?" Eph asked

"When I was a little boy, my grandmother, my bubbeh meiseh, told me fairy stories about the strigoi, about the master. I...thought they were only stories until I...saw the devil with my own eyes," Abraham said

"And you?" Eph asked Jacqueline.

"Well he's my grandfather, one also killed my father and ate my mother," Jacqueline said as if it was no big deal, making Eph look at strangely. She walked ahead of Eph and Abraham.

"She's a strange one and she's been through a lot. She also takes after her father," Abraham said

"So now what? I assume you have a plan," Eph asked

"Of course. We're going to visit the next person on the flight manifest," Abraham said

"And you kill everyone on that list?" Eph asked

"Remember, they are no longer people," Jacqueline said

"This early in the infection they're easier to kill. Now that I have recruited you, perhaps at the next house, we find another person to help. And maybe at the next, another. With 20 people we can cover 10 victims apiece," Abraham explained

"So that you can build a little army?" Eph asked

"If that's what needs to happen then so be it," Jacqueline said

"Well, I need a film of one of the victims alive so that my bosses will know how dangerous and violent they are. Who's next on the list?" Eph said

"Ansel Barbour," Jacqueline read off this list.

"One of the survivors," Eph said

"He's probably turned by now. Here," Abraham handed Eph a nail gun, "It's a nail gun. Modified it years ago. Loaded with silver nails. Silver affects them, it can even kill them. For my purposes, it weakens them enough to allow me to get close enough for a final blow. You think you're taking a risk in trusting the word of a stranger but were taking the greater risk in trusting you. What we're dealing with here is the fate of the human race. So, I don't expect you to believe that yet, you believe you're drafting me into your cause, but truth is, I'm drafting you into mine. Just to be clear, if in your attempt to film Mr. Barber, he infects you, I will not hesitate to release you."

"Duly noted," Eph said

"Good," Jacqueline said patting Eph on the shoulder.

"How long have you been doing this?" Eph asked

"Long enough. Interesting vehicle here," Abraham said as they approached Eph's truck.

"Oh yeah, Esther? I got her in the Congo," Eph said

"That's a long way to go for a truck," Jacqueline said

"It was one of my first assignments. We were dealing with an epidemic of human African trypanosomiasis that was burning its way through the oriental province. I had to get from my camp to this village that'd been hit. I traded my Rolex for it...which was a gift from my father-in-law which was not ideal for my marriage. Anyway, uh...she was beat to shit when I got her. Would hardly run, but...just fell in love with her. Shipped her home, restored her, I've been driving her ever since," Eph said

"Is there a heater in here?" Abraham asked

"Her Bunic," Jacqueline said taking off her peacoat and draping it over her grandfather's shoulders.

"It's like 30 degrees outside and I have no heater you're gonna need that," Eph said

"I'm good. I don't get cold," Jacqueline said

Eph pulls out his phone and dials a number.

"Hey if you were gonna make call I could have driven," Jacqueline said

"I think not. I don't know what's more terrifying the strigoi or you behind the wheel," Abraham said

Jacqueline smiles and lightly hits her grandfather's shoulder.

Eph puts the phone on speaker but after a few rings, it goes to voicemail, "This is Dr. Nora Martinez. Please leave me a message, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

"Hey, Nora. I know you don't want to talk to me, but just...just call me back to let me know that you're ok. Please. Just...just call me," Eph spoke into the phone.

"You two are close?" Abraham asked

"We're friends," Eph said

"Nothing more?" Jacqueline asked with a sly smile raising an eyebrow.

"What does it matter?" Eph asked

"Those we hold, dear...if they are turned they come back home and destroy those they love the most," Abraham said

With those words, the smile on Jacqueline's face slowly left her face as she drifted off into her memories.

* * *

 _Little Jacqueline wiped the tears away from her face as she looked at her family photo album. She was wearing a black dress just having come from her parents funeral. Various boxes laid around the house ready to be shipped. All the unimportant stuff had either been thrown out or sold, but the sentimental stuff was going to be shipped off to Jacqueline's new home, her grandfather's home. She wanted to stop by her home one last time before her and Abraham departed for New York._

 _After she was done looking in the album she packed it up in her suitcase and made her way downstairs._

 _She passed through the living room and stopped. She stared blankly at a spot on the ground. The same place where her father had died. She tried to shake the memory out of her head and continued to the front door where her grandfather was waiting in a cab._

 _*THUMP*_

 _Jacqueline stopped walking when she heard a loud thump coming from downstairs, the basement to be accurate. She tilted her head as the thumping got louder._

" _Jacqueline….." A voice whispered out._

 _Jacqueline eyes widened hearing the raspy voice. She looked around her panicked not knowing what was going on._

" _Come to me Jacqueline….."_

 _Jacqueline's eyes widened as the door to the basement opened up slowly and a clawed hand reached around._

" _M-M-Mama…" Jacqueline said dropping her suitcase._

" _Jacqueline…." Her turned mother said letting out clicking noises._

 _Jacqueline quickly turned around and ran to the door, but didn't get far as her mother shot out her stinger Jacqueline was able to avoid the attack but her mother ran forward, causing Jacqueline to run away and away from the front door._

" _HELP! SOMEONE HELP! AJUTOR! AJUTOR!" Jacqueline cried out as she was able to stay ahead of her mother until she fell over a pile of boxes._

 _Her mother slowly crept closer to her as Jacqueline screamed and scooted back._

" _Jacqueline…."_

" _No…" Jacqueline said with tears in her eyes. Looking for anything to defend herself Jacqueline looked over to see something silver and familiar had fallen out of one of the boxes._

 _Jacqueline grabbed the hilt of an ornate rapier and ran forward with a battle cry. With a war cry, Jacqueline thrust the weapon through her mother's neck._

 _Her mother let out a high pitched scream and fell to the ground. Jacqueline grabbed the weapon with both hands and raised it above her head._

" _Te iubesc mama," Jacqueline said before she brought the weapon down cutting her mother's head off. Jacqueline's breathing was hard as she looked at the decapitated body of her mother. She fell to her knees a stunned expression on her face._

" _Jacqueline! Jacqueline!" Abraham yelled out rushing into the house. He spotted his granddaughter next to the now dead strigoi. Without saying a word he grabs Jacqueline and wraps her in his arms._

 _Jacqueline doesn't let out a cry but just wraps her arms around her grandfather burying her face into his chest._

Jacqueline shook herself from her memory and just looked out the window watching the scenery pass by.

* * *

Eph pulled up to the house and they all got out.

"So wh-"

"Shhhhhh," Jacqueline said putting her hand up.

"What are you-?"

"Shhhhh," Jacqueline said sharply cutting off Eph off again, "The house is quite. Let's go, move with caution."

The three entered the house cautiously, Jacqueline in the front Eph next, and Abraham bringing up the rear.

"Shit," Jacqueline said as he turned a corner.

In the stairwell of the house was a woman hanging from the ceiling, she had taken her own life. Eph ran forward towards the woman.

"We gotta get her down," Eph said

"Wait," Abraham said bringing out a mirror.

"What are you doing?" Eph asked

"In a silver mirror, if she's infected, her reflection vibrates. It's one of the signs of the strigoi," Abraham said

"Really?" Eph questioned

Abraham held the mirror up to the woman's face.

"She's clear, but the real question is what drove her to it," Jacqueline said

"Help me with her," Eph said trying to take the body down.

"We have other priorities," Abraham said

As Eph tried to get the woman down her found something in her hand. A folded up piece of paper, he opened it and unfolded it.

"Here we go. She left the children with his sister. 'I am so sorry, Ansel...I can't bear to face this world without you. Forgive me...forgive me…'" Eph read

The three jumped when they heard the sound of chains rattling. The looked outside to see a shed and then heard a loud bang come from it.

"Well then, I guess we know where to look," Jacqueline said

The three made their way outside. Heading to the shed.

"Be careful. Do whatever you can to avoid the blood. One worm...is all it takes," Abraham said

The sounds of rattling chains got louder and heavy panting could be heard coming from the shed. Eph pulled out his phone and turned on the video, also readying his nail gun. Abraham pulled out his sword while Jacqueline readied her rapier.

Jacqueline put her hands on her door and nodded her head towards the two men. She threw the doors open and a strigoi lunged at them.

"Raah!"

It tried to reach for them but it was chained up with a collar around its neck.

"Did she chain him up in here?" Eph questioned

"He chained himself. To spare his family. It makes our job easier. Use the nail gun! Stun the strigoi!" Abraham said

The strigoi let out its stinger but they easily dodge it.

"Sabia...Mea fredoneaza de argint. Use the nail gun! Stun the strigoi!" Abraham said. Eph breaking out of stupor finally fires several rounds

When it's stunned Abraham cuts off its head, "Avoid contact with the worms. Don't touch the blood."

"Good enough," Eph said replaying his video.

"Do you believe it now, Doctor? The evil we're facing?" Abraham said

"There's fresh blood in here," Jacqueline said, she hears a gurgling sound and looks in the corner to see a man with his neck ripped open. Jacqueline looks down at the man sympathetically she kisses her hand and makes the Star of David with her hand. When She's done she brings her rapier down cutting through the man's neck.

The three walk out of the shed as Eph brings his phone to ear.

"Nora, just...call me back. Please. I need to know you're safe," Eph said

"We must leave. Good luck with your video, Doctor," Abraham said

"Come with me. Help me get this quarantine declared," Eph said

"You must do what you think is right, as must I. I hope you succeed and prove me wrong. Until then, well...I know our cause seems hopeless, but I have seen what happens when people stand by and do nothing. Inaction is the greatest evil. We both have work to do," Abraham said before walking away.

"Good luck," Jacqueline said to Eph before walking away.


	4. Occultation

**Occultation - The Disappeared**

After separating from Eph, Jacqueline and Abraham decided to head on to the next person's house. They made their way to the back of the house hoping to draw less attention to themselves if they entered in the back.

Abraham put his hand on the back doors knob, he turned the knob and opened the door.

"Unlocked, not a good sign," Jacqueline said

The two walked in and looked around the house. Food was out as if someone was eating but were interrupted.

"There's a lot here," Jacqueline said

"Where?" Abraham asked

Jacqueline looked around and then stopped in front of a door leading to the basement.

"Here," Jacqueline said

Jacqueline slowly opens the door and makes her way downstairs followed by Abraham. As they get downstairs they could hear the faint sound of growling. Jacqueline puts her hand up signaling to her grandfather to stop. She pulled out her rapier and walked around a wall, seeing a group of strigoi huddled together nesting. She slowly approached the huddled group and one of them caught sight of her. As it got up and walked towards her another one appeared around from the side.

She cut the head off of the first one, but had to back bend to avoid the stinger of the second one.

She heard more growls from behind her and looked back to see another one had appeared from a laundry room in the basement. Her grandfather went to deal with it but stopped and grabbed his heart.

"Bunic!" Jacqueline said, she dodged the stinger again and swung up cutting it off. The strigoi let out a shriek catching the attention of the other ones, "Rahat," Jacqueline cursed.

Abraham was able to cut off the head of the strigoi before it struck but he was still clutching his heart. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills. His hands were shaking as he tried to take the pills but a strigoi shot a stinger at him making him drop his pills.

Jacqueline pulled back and put her arm around her grandfather steadying him. As she steadied him Abraham shot at the strigoi with his nail gun. Jacqueline manages to get Abraham back up the stairs and but the strigoi follow.

Lucky for them the sunlight peeked through a window and shined right at the entrance of the door, burning the strigoi as they tried to leave the basement. Jacqueline kicked the door close as she helped Abraham to the kitchen table.

"Where's your medicine?" Jacqueline asked

"I dropped it all," Abraham said

"Shit," Jacqueline said putting a hand on her forehead, "We gotta get you back to the shop, you need that medicine."

"We must finish this," Abraham said

Jacqueline lets out an exasperated sigh. Sometimes her grandfather was so aggravating when it came to his slay the vampire obsession.

Thinking quickly Jacqueline runs around the house locating various candles. She gives the to her grandfather who lights them and puts them around the stove.

Jacqueline also gathers up various scraps of paper and puts them into the kitchen sink. Abraham turns on the gas oven and quickly heads to the front door. Jacqueline lights a match and throws it in the sink with the paper. She runs out of the house just as the kitchen catches fire.

She runs out seeing her grandfather trying to hail a cab but having some trouble.

"TAXI!" Jacqueline yelled

After several of the cabs went by and none stopped Jacqueline was getting annoyed, she needed to get her grandfather back to the shop. As another taxi came down the street, Jacqueline stepped out into the middle of the road. The Taxi cab's brakes screeched and blew its horn as it stopped a few inches in front of Jacqueline. She opened the cab door and helped Abraham in.

"Thank you for stopping," Jacqueline said to the cab driver.

* * *

Abraham sat next to his granddaughter clearly in pain.

"Hey. Don't die in my cab," The Cab driver said

"Thank you for your concern," Abraham said with sarcasm.

"Harlem is a long fare. You got money?" The Cab driver asked

"We have money plenty of money," Jacqueline pulled out a folded stack of money, "See this here. The cab fare plus a little something for you if you can get us back before the eclipse."

The cab driver smiled and sped up, "This eclipse is making everyone nuts. The plane thing and cell phones aren't working. The whole city's losing their minds, it's like judgment day out there."

"You wanna help fix this? You wanna help us stop all of this?" Abraham asked

"You can't fix crazy, man. You can't.," The Cab driver said

* * *

As Jacqueline helped Abraham to the shop they were greeted by a familiar face. Nora was standing in front of the pawn shop with an older woman. She had a scared look on her face as the older woman clung to her.

"Well then by that look it seems like you need our help," Jacqueline said

"Please," Nora said

Jacqueline let out a sigh and opened the front gate to the shop.

"Well come on in hurry, the eclipse will be starting soon," Jacqueline said

* * *

After getting her grandfather his medication and getting Nora and mother settled Jacqueline set quick to work getting more weapons prepared.

Jacqueline smiled as she looks at her latest creation. She had spent so much time making bullets and restoring her gauntlet that she was able to finish her work, but now after a lot of hard work and a lot of silver she finally had a finished project.

Jacqueline held up an arrow with a silver broad arrowhead on it. She lightly touched the tip of the arrowhead.

"Perfectly sharp," Jacqueline said

Guns weren't really her thing, now arrows that was more her speed. They could be used for short range and long range and the ammo was reusable, which is good since everything has to be made of freakin silver.

*BANG BANG BANG*

Jacqueline looked up and put down the arrow when she heard a loud bang come from upstairs. She walked upstairs to see her grandfather letting Eph in.

"I'm ready to talk," Eph said

"Follow me," Abraham said

He led Eph into the apartment part of the shop where he was greeted by Nora.

"You're here," Eph said

"You're both ready. Good. I have a new plan," Abraham said

* * *

Abraham and Jacqueline brought everyone downstairs to the workshop.

"Silver bullets?" Nora questioned

"They are susceptible to silver," Abraham said

"It burns the shit out of them," Jacqueline said

"Jacqueline and I cast these bullets ourselves," Abraham said

"OK," Eph said

"I learned the legend of this creature from my Bubbeh, my grandmother, when I was 8 years old. She's the one who told me silver could harm them. I have since verified this many times," Abraham said

"Silver is known to interfere with sulfur bonds in bacteria," Nora said

"I suggest you fill up a gun. There's plenty of bullets I made sure of that," Jacqueline said

"Look, before we do any more killing, and especially because I think it's clear we can't stop this thing one by one, I've got a better idea. We've got video. We've got ample proof to show people. Let's get this in front of the public, let' s get it in front of everybody," Eph said

"That will not work. Whoever is behind this has eliminated that option with much calculation and to great expense," Abraham said

"Oh, but your theory that you pitched yesterday, that we kill the leader of these vampires, that's far more logical," Eph said

"It's far more likely to work. We kill the Master, and its spawn will die. I promise you," Abraham said

"OK, for convenience sake and strictly as a semantic term, we'll refer to him as "the Master". You're saying we kill the master and that's somehow gonna stop this plague," Eph said

"Yeah," Abraham said

"That makes no biological sense! You destroy one creature, and somehow all the other ones die? How does that work?" Eph said

Abraham pointed over at some books, "I have verified the observations of these authors with my own experience. Those that are inaccurate, I have discarded. That is your scientific method, no? If you wish to defeat this evil, you must trust me."

"I understand this!" Eph said

"You do not!" Abraham bit back, "At every turn, everything I have said has proven to be correct. Is that not true?"

"Yes, but…"

"This is no different. Logic is not the issue here...It's your desire to always be in control," Abraham said, "Alright, alright, if we were to do this, ho...how do we find this Master?" Eph asked

"Well, that is our first problem. His nesting place will be well hidden. We need to locate his human helper," Abraham said

"What about Jim? Those people hired Jim to smuggle the coffin out of the airport," Nora said

"Jim? Who's Jim?" Jacqueline asked

"He's the guy who betrayed me. I'm not going back there," Eph said

"We're running out of other options. Please, Ephrem, trust me," Nora said

"We will prevail," Abraham said

Jacqueline put her arrows in a quiver and put it on her back.

"Let's go pay your friend a visit," Jacqueline said

* * *

Eph knocked on the front door of Jim's apartment.

"Jim, it's Eph!" Eph said knocking on the door.

The door opened and a sickly looking woman peeks her head through.

"I thought the FBI had you," Sylvia said

"It did. Let us in," Eph said

"Sylvia, please. Let them, though," Jim said

Once everyone was in they had explained the situation to Jim and his wife, who was not taking it well.

"What don't you understand, Sylvia? Your husband accepted bribes and because of that, an epidemic is now tearing its way through the city," Eph said

"Sylvie...I was involved in a major way. Look…"

"No, you're not actually thinking of doing this. I cannot believe that you are gonna let this self-righteous prick manipulate you with crazy talk about vampires!" Sylvia said angrily.

"No, I...I saw one. It attacked me," Jim said

Sylvia puts her hands up and pulls away from Jim, "I'm not listening to any more of this. You need to decide what you're going to do...and who matters to you."

"I have to help them," Jim said

Sylvia let out a sigh before grabbing her suitcase.

"Where are you going? To call a cab. I'm leaving! You do what you want, I will too!" Sylvia said

"Someone's not happy," Jacqueline said

"Jim, I need you to describe the German," Abraham said

"He was about 45, blond, hair graying, maybe a toupee. Really waxy skin. And his eyes were intense. He was well dressed," Jim said

"Thomas Eichhorst," Abraham said

Jim looked at everyone before he headed for the front door, "Give me a minute."

"Let him talk to her," Nora said

"What's your history with this German? It's long...complicated. He's a strigoi. When I first met him many years ago, he was still human, yet...Just as monstrous," Abraham said

Jacqueline had a thoughtful look on her face, "A man with waxy skin, a toupee, and intense eyes. Could he have been the one I saw a few nights ago?"

* * *

Everyone had made their way outside just in time to see Sylvia get into a cab.

"Look, Sylvia, I'm…" Jim tried to say.

"No, don't bother," Sylvia said

"Look, I'm sorry I lied. Alright? I was only trying to protect you," Jim said

"Jesus. Let's go," Sylvia said and with that, the cab drove off.

"Goddammit," Jim said letting out a sigh.

"She'll come around," Nora said

"Will she?" Jim said, "Look, I'm all in with you guys. Let's hope this works and the German guy shows up."

"He has too much hubris. Once challenged, he will show. You'll need this," Abraham said handing Jim a dagger.

"I was sort of hoping for something in the gun family," Jim said taking the dagger.

"Silver is more effective," Abraham said

"Don't worry you've got plenty of backup," Jacqueline said throwing her arm over Jim's shoulder.

The man gave her a nervous smile.

* * *

They had gone over the plan multiple times and now the time had finally come for them to act. While Jim stood out in the open of the train station everyone else was strategically hidden throughout the station. Nora and Eph were upstairs while Jacqueline and Abraham hid downstairs where the train terminals were.

Abraham stood at a kiosk holding a newspaper while Jacqueline stood leaning against a wall with the hood of her jacket up. Jacqueline kept her head down as the target came down the stairs. She saw her grandfather follow Eichhorst and then she followed behind them both.

She followed them both until she saw Eichhorst get on a train. Abraham followed behind but Jacqueline stayed put hiding behind a pillar. Just as the train doors were about to close Eichhorst excited. Abraham quickly stuck his cane in the door and forced it open. He followed Eichhorst but the vampire had disappeared.

"A230385, you really thought I would lead you to him?" Eichhorst said appearing.

Abraham swung his sword but Eichhorst easily dodged eat attack. "I warned you to stay in jail. Fitting that we should end our journey where it began...On a train platform," Eichhorst said

"This time, I'm the one with the weapon," Abraham said drawing his sword.

"Sardu's sword, the Master will be pleased to get it back," Eichhorst said

"Then come and take it," Abraham said

Abraham expertly swung his sword in attack but Eichhorst was too fast with his inhuman speed. He knocked the sword out of Abraham's hands and the grasped the old man by his neck lifting him up.

"And once again, you follow a false messiah who will prove as horrific as the last one," Eichhorst said

Eichhorst opens his mouth and his stinger slowly appears.

"Hey!" Jacqueline said coming out from her hiding spot.

Eichhorst turned his head to see Jacqueline.

"Drop him!" Jacqueline said drawing her rapier.

"Besonderes, it's so good to see you again," Eichhorst said with a smile.

Jacqueline eyes widened and she had a flashback to all those years ago.

"You…" Jacqueline said

Her look of surprise quickly turned to anger but before she could move a gunshot went off and Eichhorst dropped Abraham as he grabbed his wound. He hid behind a pillar just as a train was coming by.

"Grrr! I give you another day of life, Jew, for services rendered, and we will be meeting soon besonderes," Eichhorst said

Jacqueline ran forward but was too late as Eichhorst jumped on the moving digging his fingers into the side of the train.

"Are you alright?" Jim asked helping Abraham up.

Abraham just take his sword as he looked down the tunnel where the train left.

Jacqueline has a distressed look on her face as she looks back at her grandfather.

* * *

"Are you OK Bunic?" Jacqueline asked walking over to Abraham.

"Am I injured? No, but we have missed our opportunity...And there will be consequences," Abraham said

"How did it move like that?" Jim asked

"He's a freakin vampire that's how," Jacqueline said

"The vampires you've seen before are newly formed, in the earliest stages of maturity," Abraham said

"I shot him in the leg," Eph said

"Had you struck bone, it might have hobbled him," Abraham said

"Are you saying gunshots don't kill them?" Nora questioned

"It's hard to wound them fatally with a gun. Strigoi flesh heals rapidly, but silver burns them. It's been many, many years since Eichhorst tasted such pain. By wounding him, we have sent the Master a message. I do not think we will have to wait long for his reply," Abraham said

"I really, really don't like the sound of that," Jim said as the group started to walk out.

"Tunnels are the perfect ecology for them, aren't they? Dank, dark, devoid of sunlight," Nora said

"We already know vampires don't like sunlight," Jim said

"Not vampires, viruses. The die-off rate for any genome-based pathogen when exposed to direct ultraviolet light is over 90%," Eph said

"That's why the sun desiccates them. And at nighttime, they have free reign," Nora said

"It's nighttime now. New York City is an open buffet," Jim said

Unless...We can find a way to simulate our own sunlight," Eph said

"Looks like the doctor's got himself an idea," Jacqueline said

* * *

The group had hailed a cab were quickly dropped off at a medical supply store. Unfortunately, it was not open.

"Shit It's closed," Jim said

"Where's another medical supply store?" Eph asked

"Uvc light? Bushwick," Jim said

Nora walked up to cab driver and handed him some money, "Here. Can you wait a minute?"

As soon as the money was passed off the cab driver pulled off.

The group yelled after it but it just kept driving.

"Asshole!" Jacqueline said shouting after the cab.

"Well, I guess we're staying here," Eph said

The group walked around to the back of the window.

"That window over there," Eph said pointing at the back window.

"I got this," Ja said taking off her jacket.

"We're breaking in? We're burglars now?" Nora said

"Burglars, vigilantes, vampire killers. Add it to the list," Eph said

Jacqueline wrapped her jacket around her arm, "This place most likely has an alarm so be ready."

"Have you done this before?" Jim questioned

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Jacqueline said

She faces the window and pulls her arm back. She thrust her arm forward and easily punches through the glass, but there's no alarm.

"Must be a silent alarm," Jim said

Jacqueline hops through the window and a few seconds later the back door opens revealing a smiling Jacqueline, "Let's move people."

Everyone rushes in as Jacqueline shakes the glass off her jacket and put it back on.

"Hold up. Wait. You hear something?" Eph said

"I think it was outside," Jim said

" _No it was not from outside,"_ Jacqueline thought

"Let's just do this and get out of here," Eph said

They moved through the shelves of the supply store but stopped when they heard the click of a gun.

"Say something, so I know you're not one of them," A thickly accented voice said

"You can put the gun down. We tried the door. Nobody answered. This is a legitimate medical emergency. We broke into requisition supplies," Jim said

"Requisition, huh? You look like a bunch of looters to me," Fet said

"We're from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Who are you?" Eph asked

"I'm a looter," Fet said

"Hahaha." Everyone looked behind Fet to see Jacqueline standing there casually holding her gun, "I like this guy."

Everyone gave except for Abraham gave the young woman an odd look.

"What?" Jacqueline questioned

"How'd you get over there?" Eph questioned

Jacqueline just shrugs her shoulders before putting her gun away.

* * *

The group walked around the warehouse and Jim found the UVC lights or where they should be.

"Right here. They were right here. The uvc lights, they were...They're gone!" Jim said

"I guess you've seen those sons of bitches too, huh?" Fet said pushing a cart with the UVC lights on it.

"Hey, what are you gonna do with those lights?" Jim asked

"Same thing as you, I bet. Sunlight fries these big munchers. That means ultraviolet radiation. UVC light is the strongest there is," Fet said

"We need those lamps," Eph said

"You're the airplane doctor. I saw you on TV. Right? Hmm. Aren't you some kind of dangerous criminal or something?" Fet said

"Hey, pal, the police are gonna be here any minute," Jim said

"No, they're not. I took out the phone lines at the junction box. No alarm. Besides, by my guess, the cops have bigger things to worry about by now. Don't you think? Any reward for turning you in?" Fet asked

"No, sorry," Eph said

"Too bad for me. Very good for you," Fet said

"You, uh...encountered these creatures?" Abraham asked

"Sort of...I exterminated a couple," Fet said

"You say "exterminate"?" Abraham questioned

"That's what I do, Pops, I'm a city exterminator. So the government's getting in on the fight, huh?" Fet said

"Not officially," Eph said

"What are you gonna do with 12 lamps?" Nora asked

"I'm not gonna run out for a while," Eph said

"So it's every man for himself already? If so, then this battle is over before it even began," Nora said

"I'll tell you what...I'll give you four," Fet said

"Four?" Nora questioned

"What? Grandpa wants one?" Fet said

"We'll take six. Half," Nora said

Fet thought on it for a second, "I can survive with six. But only six!"

Jacqueline smiled over at Nora, "Now I'm starting to like her too."

* * *

Everyone exited out of the supply store and were now across the street from a gas station.

"Why don't we get some phones? Those pay-as-you-go types," Eph said

"Cell phones aren't working, something about the network," Nora said

"Eventually, they'll work and we'll need a way to communicate," Eph said

"We might as well load up on food and drinks while we can," Jim said

"Let's make it quick," Nora said

"Go ahead, I'll be right along," Abraham said

"Me too," Jacqueline said

Fet loaded his equipment in his car as Abraham and Jacqueline stood next to him.

"How did you get here, Pops?" Fet asked

"We traveled by subway and taxi cab," Abraham said

"I wouldn't go back that way if I were you. The subway tunnels, that's where they are. Dozens of them," Fet said

"Oh there's probably a shit ton more by now," Jacqueline said

"Aren't you a little young to be using that language," Fet said with a smirk.

"Trust me I'm old enough," Jacqueline said smirking back.

"These tunnels, you know them well?" Abraham asked

"Very well," Fet said

"How may we get in touch with you? Perhaps we can help each other," Abraham said

"I work alone," Fet said

"Where else have you seen these vampires?" Abraham asked

Jacqueline's nose twitched and she snapped her head to the left. Skulking its way up to the gas station was a strigoi, followed by a few more.

"Vampires? No, no, no, no, no. No. Not like Dracula. No, they don't have any fangs or anything like that. They're more like rat people, you know?" Fet said

"Bunic," Jacqueline said pointing over at the vampire.

Abraham looks over and sees where Jacqueline's is posting, "If you'll excuse us."

Abraham and Jacqueline walked towards the gas station.

One of the vampires pressed itself against the glass of the gas station. It let out a few hisses and growls before Abraham swiftly chopped its head off.

"Hehe, never lose your touch Bunic," Jacqueline said

Another growl turned their attention as another strigoi approached.

Abraham started to approach it talking in his native language.

Jacqueline pulled out her bow and arrow, "I've got him, Bunic," She pulled the bowstring back and launched an arrow right into the middle of if forehead. It dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. Jacqueline just walked over and yanked the arrow out of its head and cleaned it off before putting it back in her quiver.

The two turned around to see another strigoi coming but before it could shoot out its stinger Fet ran up from behind it and struck it in the head with rebar.

"Bow and arrow, huh? Interesting," Fet said

"Raahahhha!"

The three turned around to see the strigoi Fet hit was still alive, but its head was dented in.

"What? You want some more? Huh?" Fet said

He swung his arm out and struck the creature in its leg causing it to collapse.

More strigoi approached and they prepared to attack. Eph, Nora, and a random man came out of the store.

Jacqueline saw the random man head around the store but before she could stop him a Strigoi appeared and struck his stinger right in his neck. Jacqueline winced as she saw the blood being drained from the man. Fet approached behind her and pulled out his gun, as he aimed and tried to shoot the gun jammed.

"It's jammed! That's why I carry rebar," Fet said

"Wait, there's too many. I need your help," Abraham said pulling out his nail gun.

"Here," Jacqueline said getting Fet's attention. She pulls up her skirt lightly and reveals two guns one strapped to each thigh. She takes one out of its holster and tosses it to Fet.

Jacqueline pulls her skirt back down and pulls out her rapier slicing. She takes down one strigoi swiftly cutting off its head. She quickly turns around and is met with a stinger she jumps back to dodge but ends up slipping in a puddle of oil.

She heard a cracking sound as she landed but ignored it as the Strigoi shot its stinger angina. She used her gauntlet hand to grab its stinger and the vampire let out a shrill shriek as the silver burned it.

Jacqueline let out a smile and yanked the stinger using the leverage to pull herself up and pull the striogi down. As it hit the ground Ja stabbed it with her rapier.

"AHHHHRAHHHH!"

Jacqueline looked behind her to see Jim with a UV light and was shining it on a strigoi. It screamed as the light burned it.

"I got him!" Jim said

Unfortunately, another one approached him from the side and shot out its stinger knocking him back. Abraham quickly came and shot it with his nail gun as Fet helped Jim up.

"Inside! Now! Here," Abraham said

Everyone ran sides with Eph being the last. He locked the door as more and more Strigoi approached the gas station.

"At least we know the light works," Jim said

"Not through glass, there's a natural UV barrier. Filters out 80 to 90% of UV radiation," Eph said

"Lucky us," Jacqueline said

"Jim, what happened?" Nora said spotting the cut on Jim's face.

"Scraped when she knocked me down," Jim said

"OK. Go to the restroom, wash it out," Eph said

"Go out, all of you! I'll call police!" The store clerk said waving around a gun.

"Go ahead, Apu! Fire it off in there! Go deaf!" Fet said

Eph stood by the door and an older man, who appeared to be a stocker approached him, "Look, I don't want no trouble. I'm just a working man here. You let me go, I'm out of your hair."

"We all want to get out of here," Eph said

"Why did you just lock us in?" The man said

"Hey! Hey! What the hell is going on? What are those things?" A blonde woman asked with a frantically scared tone.

"Strigoi," Abraham said

She just gave him a strange look.

"Vampires," Jacqueline said

"They're kidding, right?" The blonde said

"Does it look like he's kidding?" Fet said walking by.

* * *

Fet, Abraham, and Jacqueline made their way to the back of the station and to the garage.

"These glass windows aren't keeping 'em out. What are they waiting for?" Fet questioned

"Reinforcements. We have very little time," Abraham said

"I need the rules. What kills these things, aside from direct sunlight?" Fet asked

"The brainstem must be destroyed or severed from the spinal cord," Abraham said

"So, beheading...or rebar bashing. What about guns?" Fet asked

"Hand me the gun I gave you," Jacqueline said

Fet puts the gun in her hands and she pulls out the magazine. She takes out one bullet and shows it to him.

"Lead rounds can maim them if they strike bone. Flesh wounds heal without pain. Only...silver truly...hurts them. They fear it," Abraham said

"Silver swords, silver bullets, silver arrows. And that nail gun that you have there. Aside from silver nails, uh...What? Standard issue?" Fet said

"From Home Depot," Abraham said

"Vasiliy Fet. It's good to know you two," Fet said

"Abraham Setrakian, pleasure," Abraham said

"Jacqueline Setrakian, charmed," Jacqueline said

The three walked out of the garage and back into the shop part of the gas station.

Eph approached the bullet proof window that the store clerk was still in. He knocked on the glass, "Hey, get out of there. Need your help."

The store clerk held up a notebook, "Extension cords, and food, and hydrogen peroxide. I make list of everything you steal!"

"We're not stealing anything. All right, listen everybody. We need your help. We're doctors from the Center for Disease Control. There's a plague that's spreading through New York City," Eph said

"Is it a plague or is it vampires? Because she said vampires," The blonde said pointing at Jacqueline.

Eph gives Jacqueline a look who just shrugs her shoulders putting her hands up.

"It's a transformative disease that makes people predatory and extremely dangerous, but we have an idea about how to get us all out of here tonight," Eph said

"Sorry, man. Good luck with all that, but I got to…"

"You're not gonna make it. Trust me," Eph said

"Trust you? I don't even know you! How can I trust you?" The man said

"No, sir, please listen to me. If you go out there, you will be killed," Eph said

Suddenly the sound of the door opening catches everyone's attention and they see the brunette woman who was with the blonde run out.

"Hey! What are you doing? Stop! No! No!" Nora said running to the door.

"Nikki, hey, don't! Hey!" The blonde woman said

She ran past the gas pumps dodging each Strigoi, Jacqueline for sure thought she was gonna get eaten, but as she passed the fence they stopped following her.

"Son of a bitch. She made it," Fet said

"Wow, I'm actually surprised," Jacqueline said

"She ditched me. That bitch! You said not to run!" The blonde yelled hitting Eph.

"They're not following her. They're not here for her," Eph said

Everyone looked back at Abraham and then at Jacqueline.

"Hey what the hell are with those looks," Jacqueline said

"They're here for us," Abraham said "

"Us"? Who's "us"? Not us, you!" The blonde woman said pointing at Abraham and Jacqueline.

"We go to my truck. It's right over there," Fet said

"It's too far. We won't all make it," Abraham said

"The bread truck's right over there. Anybody else wants to go now? I got plenty of room in back," The old man said

"Are you kidding? I'm in," The blonde woman said

"This is what they thrive on: Fear, panic, divisiveness. There's strength in numbers. We must make a plan and act together," Abraham said

"I got a plan: It's called beat 'em to the truck! Just you and me then," The old man said turning to the blonde woman, "You're ready?"

The woman nods her head and grabs a window scraper while the man grabs a dolly.

"Oh, come on!" Eph said as they rush out the door.

"They are not gonna make it," Jacqueline said

Everyone watches as they run towards the truck. The old man throws it dolly at one of the strigoi and punches another in the face, but he is quickly surrounded. A stinger latches on his neck, another on his leg, and arm.

The blonde woman stops running horrified and quickly turns around to run back to the store but ends up falling.

Eph runs over to where the UV lights are.

"I said they weren't gonna make it," Jacqueline said casually as she unlocked the door.

As one of the strigoi approached the fallen woman, Jacqueline walks out pulling her other gun from her thigh holster and shooting it in the head. She pulls the woman up just as Eph runs out holding the UV light. He burns an approaching Strigoi before Jacqueline shoots it in the head.

"You go I'll cover you," Jacqueline said

Eph grabs the woman and pulls her inside as Jacqueline walks backwards shooting any strigoi that gets close. All three make it back inside and Nora shuts the door locking it.

"Nobody leaves until we all leave!" Eph screamed out angry.

Jacqueline turns away to go sit down but is stopped by a gasp from Nora.

"Oh my god," Nora said

Jacqueline looks back to see her looking at her, "What?" Jacqueline asked raising an eyebrow.

Nora walks over to Jacqueline and puts her hands on Jacqueline's lower back. Jacqueline looks down to see a large blood stain.

"Shit," Jacqueline said

"You need to sit down. With this much blood your wound could-"

"No," Jacqueline said cutting Nora off I'm fine, "It's not my blood."

"Then whose blood is it?" Eph questioned

"I don't know. Don't dwell on it. I'm fine.," Jacqueline said looking back down at her coat, "Damn and I really like this coat too."

"Are we stuck till morning?" Jim asked

"We won't make it till morning. We won't even last another hour," Abraham said

"We won't?" Jim questioned

"Many more will be coming. Soon, they'll swarm and overrun us," Abraham said

"They can communicate with each other now?" Eph said

"They're connected to the Master who sees through every strigoi eye," Abraham said

"He sees through them?" Eph said

"When will you decide to believe me?!" Abraham said

The growling gets louder and everyone looks outside to see more Strigoi coming.

* * *

Everyone's spirits were pretty low by now and they were loitering around the store trying to decide what to do next.

Jacqueline was leaning against a freezer eating a popsicle.

"Give me 25 Powerball Quick Picks, Apu," Fet said to the clerk.

"I am Hassan," Hassan said

"Hassan, 25 Powerball Quick Picks. Make of them a winner," Fet said

"Lottery machine is down. Credit card machine down. 9-1-1 down," Hassan said

"50 dollars' worth of scratch tickets then. Yeah? My luck, uh...Can only get better," Fet said

Jacqueline lets out a snort like giggle hearing Fet.

Abraham looked outside observing the Strigoi as Eph, Nora, and Jim huddled around discussing what to do.

Jacqueline saw the blonde woman sitting on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chest. She walks over to the woman and sits next to her.

"Wanna popsicle?" Jacqueline asked offering the woman a popsicle

The woman just looks at her unmoving.

"Come on, it's cheerrrryyy flavor," Jacqueline waving it in front of the woman.

The woman lets out a small smile before taking the popsicle from Jacqueline. Jacqueline smiled and stood back up walking over to the main part of the group.

"Maybe in a tight cordon with the UVC lamps and the weapons, we can make a break for it," Eph suggested

"How about the other cars in the garage?" Nora questioned One's got no engine, and one's got no wheels," Fet said

Jim walks over and hands Eph a bottle of milk who just raises his eyebrow at the man.

"I stuck around to help. Let me know if there's anything else I can do," Jim said before walking away.

"Jim, what is that?" Nora questioned grabbing the man's arm.

"What?" Jim questioned

"Come here," Nora said pulling him to the side.

"What? I don't like that look," Jim said

Nora grabs a UV light and puts it close to Jim's face.

"Hey, careful, that will burn," Jim said

"Close your eyes," Nora said holding the light up close to his face.

"Fuck," Jacqueline said under her breath.

"Alright, guys, come on. Talk to me," Jim said sounding worried.

"Your cheek…" Eph said

"Yeah, got cut," Jim said

"I think you got nicked," Eph said

"It's just a scrape," Jim said

"Jim...It's a worm. I need, uh, tweezers, a lighter. And where's that hydrogen peroxide?" Eph said

"Doctor, a word please," Abraham said

Eph ignores him, "I need, uh...paper towels, gloves, and, uh, a knife."

"What?!" Jim said

"I'm gonna cut it out of you," Eph said

Nora and Eph star gathering the supplies and rush Jim to the back room.

"Bunic…" Jacqueline said

"I know darling….I know," Abraham said patting her shoulder.

* * *

Everyone went to the office within the gas station. Nora was throwing everything off the desk preparing an operating table for Jim.

"What are you gonna do with that box cutter?" Jim asked with a scared tone.

Nora walks over to Fet and takes the vodka out of his hands "Here. Drink this," Nora said handing the alcohol to Jim.

Jim immediately starts downing the drink before Eph lays him on the table.

"The stinger must have grazed you. Maybe that's all it takes to transmit the parasite," Nora said

"Do you feel it anywhere?" Eph asked

"Anywhere? I can feel it everywhere now. Am I gonna end up like the airline pilot?" Jim asked really scared now.

"Not if we get it before," Eph said

"Before what?" Jim asked

"Before it reproduces!" Eph said

Suddenly a pounding could be heard above the.

"Well that not a good sound," Jacqueline said

"They're on the roof. At the back door. Come on," Fet said

"I'll go see what they're doing in the front," Jacqueline said

She quickly runs to the front of the store and sees more strigoi.

"God they're like roaches," Jacqueline said

She walks up to the door and as she does so several striogi presses themselves closer to the door, and watch her. She stares back into their eyes a glare present on her face.

"You can see me, can't you. I don't know what you want, but I promise you I won't let you get it," Ja said

She continues to stare at the creatures blank eyes but then starts to hear a faint whispering. She continues to stare as the whispering turns into nothing but jumbled noise. She gives the strigoi the finger before looking away. She stands in the middle of the store but can hear the screaming of Jim coming from the back.

"Jacqueline!" Abraham called out.

Jacqueline makes her way back to the garage where her grandfather had called to her.

"Yes, Bunic?" Jacqueline questioned

"How fast can you change a tire?" Fet asked

Ja smiles, "Hand me a tire iron."

Within a few minutes, both Fet and Jacqueline had removed the tires from the car with no engine and were putting it on the other car.

"Almost there," Fet said

"You better hurry up. They're up to something," The blonde woman said

"Hey! Oh, God! Someone, come quick!" Hassan's screamed out.

Eph, Nora, and Abraham run to the front as they hear glass shattering of glass.

"Turn away! No, no! You can't come in here! Get him out!" Hassan cried out.

A strigoi had picked up the dolly and used it to smash the glass door. Eph quickly ran forward and picked up the UV light burning the monster. Ab shoots it and it falls down dead.

"They're using tools now," Eph said

"Not just tools, but distraction," Abraham said before walking out the door.

"What are you doing? Wait for us," Eph said grabbing two lights.

Nora follows with two UV lights.

"You're gonna tell me what we're doing out here?" Eph asked

One of the vampires was climbing up the light pole towards the transponder.

"It's cutting off power!" Abraham said, he starts shooting at the creature. He ends up hitting it but it doesn't stop trying to take out the power.

"That didn't stop him," Eph said

"I didn't hit him in the head! Don't distract me," Abraham said

After a few more shots he finally hits the vampire in the head but as he did so it managed to break the transponder.

In the back of the garage, Fet and Jacqueline weren't having as much luck either. The two were still trying to change the tires and they were almost done where the back windows were shattered open.

"Damnit!" Jacqueline said pulling out her rapier.

Fet drops his tire iron and pulls out his rebar and starts attacking the strigoi with Jacqueline.

"Someone help us!" The blonde woman screamed out.

"The car! were almost done! Somebody, block the door!" Fet said

"Fall back! Fall back!" Abraham said

They all run to the front of the store. Blocking the garage door.

"Getting 'em on all sides now! Can't wait any longer," Fet said

"How much more time do we have left in those lamp batteries?" Eph asked

"If we get 20 minutes out of these things, I'll be amazed," Fet said

"That means we have...20 more minutes of life, if that. The bread truck is our only hope," Abraham said

"OK. That didn't work out so well for the actual bread truck driver who still has the keys by the way," Jim said

"And once you get outside with those things, that truck is a lot farther away than it seems," The blonde said

"Fine. We'll put it to a vote. Who wants to stay and die?" Abraham asked, everyone looks around with scared looks on their faces as the sounds of growling and banging get louder, "The longer we allow ourselves to be distracted from our only goal, survival, the more likely we are to pull short of achieving it! Mr. Fet, you spent your life engaging vermin in this city. Perhaps, you have some suggestions for...getting us from here to there."

Fet nods his head.

Within seconds everyone was given a task and the running around the store doing what they could to prepare.

"Hey, uh, what shall I do?" The blonde asked

"Take those bottles over there and empty 'em in the bathroom," Eph said

A bang was heard from above making Eph look up.

"Trying to rip off the HVAC unit and get into the venting. They're getting more lucid, aren't they?" Eph said

"In one month, they will be fully mature," Abraham said

"Like Eichhorst?" Eph questioned

"No, not like him. There are a few to whom the Master grants greater power. They retain parts of their former selves. Eichhorst is one of the chosen. Even among the strigoi, there is a caste system," Abraham explained

"No offense, but every time I talk to you, I come away feeling worse," Eph said

"Yeah, you'll get used to it," Jacqueline said walking by.

"Hassan, it's time to come out of there, OK? Alright? You're coming with us," Fet said

"It is safe here," Hassan said

"Don't be a fool. You want to die inside a cigarette box?" Fet said

"I stay! I wait for police! And who pays for this?!" Hassan said

Fet hands Hassan a ticket, "It's a 250$ win, alright? Keep the change, you earned it."

"Jacqueline my dear come here," Abraham said

Jacqueline immediately walks over to Abraham.

"Even with this plan, it will be very difficult to break through the strigoi defenses. You know what must be done," Abraham said

"Yes I do," Jacqueline said

"Did both of your vials break?" Abraham asked

"No, just one," Jacqueline said

"One shall be enough," Abraham said

Jacqueline nods her head. Abraham puts a hand on her shoulder and gives her a reassuring squeeze.

After the talk, Jacqueline helps Eph fill some bottles up with flammable liquid.

"Bit crazy, right? For you to save my life in here only to get stung out there," Jim said

"I think Setrakian's right, we just need to stay together," Eph said

"It was inside of my face. Eph, what you did...was incredible," Jim said

"We can talk about it later, let's just focus on getting out of here," Eph said

"So sorry. I knew what I was doing was wrong; I just didn't know how wrong. What to do now is just try to go forward," Jim said

"I got it and I appreciate it," Eph said looking up. As he did so he saw a worm crawl under the skin of Jim's forehead. His stunned look doesn't go unnoticed by Jim.

"What?" Jim questioned, Eph slowly approaches him "Are you kidding?" As Eph gets closer Jim starts to freak out, "Whatever. Everything's fine. I don't feel anything. I can't feel anything, it's fine."

"Shhhhh," Eph said grabbing Jim's face. He looks at his neck and then turns Jim around before lifting up the back of his shirt. Nora brings out a UV light and shines it on Jim's back to reveal hundreds of worms.

Jacqueline looks away saddened knowing that this was going to be the end result.

Oh, shit! Oh, shit! I'm done for, aren't I?" Jim said

"We're gonna take you to the hospital. We're going to give you antiparasitics. We'll try chemo. We have a lot of tools at our disposal," Eph said

"You couldn't save Captain Redfern! Oh, shit. You have to kill me," Jim said

"We're not killing you," Eph said

"We don't have time for this debate. We have to go. Now!" Abraham said

"You have to, uh...Release me. It's the expression, right?" Jim said

"That's not a solution," Eph said

"You killed the others! It was a solution for them!" Jim said

"It was different," Eph said

"I want to know the truth. Once I turn, I'm gonna go after them, right?" Jim asked approaching Abraham.

"The ones you love, yes. Cruelest feature of this dark curse is that the bond that joins you in life, human love, is corrupted into the need to...consume those closest to you," Abraham said

"Sylvia. My parents," Jim said sadly.

"Don't listen to him, Jim. We can fight this. We just need to get you out of here first," Eph said

"You cannot save him! We don't have time for this nonsense," Abraham said

"This is my friend!" Eph said

"Exactly. So the humane thing…"

"The humane thing is to treat him!" Eph yelled

"He comes with us! We don't have to decide this now," Nora said

"Nora...I'd rather be dead than turn into one of them," Jim said

"Your impulse is always to save, I know. Save your friend's soul. Release him. Do it now before he turns!" Abraham said

"Don't listen to him, Jimmy. You know modern technology…" Eph said

"No, stop!" Jim said

"We can help you," Eph said

"It's too late," Abraham said reaching for his sword.

"No! No!" Eph yelled running forward and grabbing the hilt.

Fet runs up from behind and takes the gun out of Eph's pocket and shoots Jim in the face.

"Aah!" Nora screamed

Fet shot Jim several more times in the head.

"Okay, that's enough!" Jacqueline said pushing Fet's arm down.

"What did you do?! Why did you do that?!" Eph yelled pushing Fet up against a wall.

"Because you couldn't," Fet said

"What gave you the right?!" Eph yelled in Fet's face.

"He wanted to die, and you were arguing when we need to be moving! I did your friend a favor," Fet said

"It was not your decision to make!" Nora yelled knocking a shelf over.

Abraham starts saying a prayer over Jim's body.

"Jim, I'm so sorry," Nora said

More thumping and growling could be heard as the strigoi are almost in the store. Everyone runs in the front of the store.

"Here they come," Abraham said he turns to Jacqueline, "Jacqueline!"

"Right!" Jacqueline said

Everyone looks at the young woman as she pulls out a vial of blood.

"Is that blood?!" Nora said

"What is she doing?!" Eph said

"What she must for us to survive," Abraham said

"What does that mean? Dutch asked

Jacqueline twist off the cap to the vial and downs the blood surprising everyone.

"What the hell is she doing?!" Fet yelled

Jacqueline hunches over breathing heavily shaking.

"Get out of her way!" Abraham yelled putting his arms up and blocking everyone from Jacqueline.

Jacqueline looks over at the group and everyone but Abraham gasp. The iris of her eyes were now a deep scarlet red and the canines of her teeth were sharp like fangs.

Nora and Dutch gasp covering their mouths as Fet and Eph look with open mouths.

Jacqueline lets out a thunderous growl before running out the door rapier swinging.

"What….the hell...was that?" Dutch said

As soon as she said that the back door burst open and the ceiling caves in flooding with strigoi.

"No time let's move!" Eph said

As they run outside Jacqueline is running around with incredible speed taking out strigoi right and left.

"What happened to her?" Nora asked

"That is the true nature of Jacqueline," Abraham said

The group huddled together making a circle using the UV lights as shields.

"If you get stung, I won't hesitate to return the favor," Eph said

"That's the spirit, Doc. That's the spirit," Fet said

Fet pulls out a bottle that had been converted into a molotov cocktail. He lights the rag and starts throwing them cutting off the path of most of the strigoi.

Jacqueline lets out another roar clearing away more strigoi. The group makes it to the gas pump.

"I need a credit card!" Fet said

"You don't have a credit card?" Nora asked

"I'm currently in dispute over my credit limit," Fet said

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Eph said

Nora reached into Eph's pocket and got out his credit card handing it to Fet.

"What's your code?" Fet asked

"1, 1, 2, 1, 5," Eph said

A few moments go by as the strigoi get closer.

"What's the holdup?!" Eph yelled

"I'm awaiting authorization!" Fet said

"I, uh, I don't know how to tell you guys this, but…" Dutch said

"Approved!" Fet said he pushes a button getting the gas pump started.

"Give me the buckets," Nora said

"Gasoline doesn't want to be a liquid; it wants to be a vapor, so go fast, OK?" Fet said

"OK," Nora said

"Nora!" Fet said giving her a bucket.

"Hold them back!" Fet said

"Hurry!" Dutch said

A strigoi gets close to Dutch and shoots out its stinger making the woman scream but it never hits as its head rolls on the ground.

"I've got you," Jacqueline said with a fanged smirk putting her rapier over her shoulder.

Dutch just looks at the girl wide-eyed, "You can talk."

"What the hell. Of course, I can talk, I could before," Jacqueline said

Dutch was about to say something but she screams again as a strigoi from behind shoot out its stinger as Jacqueline. Without even looking Jacqueline easily dodges the stinger and then disappears to reappear behind the strigoi, she grabs its head and easily snapped its neck with one swift motion.

"Let's go! Go! Go! Go, go, go, go!" Fet said as Nora poured the buckets on the ground.

"My light! My light went out!" Nora said

"I got you!" Dutch running over and giving Nora another light. As this was happening Jacqueline stood in front of two women killing any vampire that got close.

"Go, go, go! Go! Come on! Go! Come on! Go! Go! Go, come on, go!" Fet yelled

Everyone but Fet and Jacqueline run to the bread truck. Fet lights one more cocktail and throws, as soon as it hits the ground it ignites the gasoline scrying the strigoi.

"Go!" Jacqueline said pushing Fet towards the truck.

Fet looks back at the girl.

"Just go get the truck going. I'll be fine!" Jacqueline said

Fet runs and hops in the truck starting it as Jacqueline stood behind it protecting. The truck roars to life and starts to drive off. Jacqueline lets out a growl at the last standing strigoi and then runs after the truck. She easily latches onto the back of the truck and pulls herself up onto the roof as it drives off.

Jacqueline just lets out some heavy pants and then falls back onto the truck's roof spread eagle.

* * *

After about 10 minutes Jacqueline finally sits up and crawls to the edge of the van's roof. She reaches down and knocks on the back door. It swings open and Jacqueline easily swings herself inside. She takes a seat in the corner, as everyone just stares at her.

After the truck drives, a couple of miles Jacqueline can't handle the intense staring.

"Are you guys gonna ask questions or just look at me?" Jacqueline snapped annoyed

"What are you?" Dutch asked

"I'm a vampire. Well more like ⅓ a vampire," Jacqueline said

"⅓? How are you ⅓?" Eph asked

"Well, my father was half vampire and my mother was human, simple as that. Actually, it's way more complicated but I really don't feel like going into that long explanation now," Jacqueline said

"I've seen you out in sunlight, and you touch silver all the time," Eph said

"I guess you could say I'm the upgraded model of a vampire. Sunlight doesn't hurt me at all, and silver only burns if it pierces my skin. Enhanced smell, sight, taste, and hearing. I've got no stinger and I keep all of my human characteristics," Jacqueline said but then she remembered her fangs and red eyes, "Well most of my human characteristics."

"My granddaughter is a force to be reckoned with," Abraham said

"So you like drink blood?" Dutch asked

"You don't have to look so scared of me, it's not like I'm gonna start drinking your blood. I don't need it to survive. I still have most of my human organs so I can sustain myself on human food. Blood only makes me stronger and enhances my abilities," Jacqueline said

Nora, Eph, and Dutch, just stare at the girl with uncertain looks.

"You know what!" Jacqueline said standing up, "If you guys have an issue I'll leave!" She said walking over to the back door.

"No need girly! You're staying right here!" Fet yelled from the front.

"We're all a little shaken and surprised but you helped us, saved us. I think it would be best if you stayed," Nora said

Eph looks a little apprehensive but nodded his head along with Dutch.

Jacqueline steps back from the door and sits down.

"Besides if I wanted to drink your guy's blood I would have done it already," Jacqueline joked

She gets no laughs, "Too soon?"

"Yeah maybe," Eph said

* * *

The truck pulled up to a suburban house.

"That's my place right there," Eph said

Eph gets out from the front seat and walks to the back of the van.

"For your protection. Just in case," Abraham said handing Eph a gun.

"You OK?" Eph questioned Nora.

"I don't know," Nora said

"Be right back," Eph said leaving.

The rest of the group sat in the truck waiting.

"How long are you going to stare?" Jacqueline asked in an exasperated tone.

"How sharp are those things?" Dutch asked gesturing to her teeth.

"Let's just say as a child the expression of bite your tongue had a literal meaning," Jacqueline said

"How long are you gonna stay like that?" Fet asked

"I only had a small amount of blood so maybe an hour tops," Jacqueline said

She suddenly stands up sniffing the air, "Shit."

"What?" Nora asked

Suddenly a loud shriek comes from the house along with Ephs yell.

"Hurry!" Nora said running out the van.

They all run into the house just in time to see Eph behead a strigoi.

"Who was that?" Abraham asked

"My ex-wife's boyfriend," Eph said

"Not anymore," Fet said

Jacqueline puts a hand behind her hand trying to hold in her laugh.

* * *

"We should search the house," Abraham said

"OK," Eph said

"Is there a basement?" Abraham asked

"If my wife is down there, nothing happens when my son's here. Understand?" Eph said

"Fair enough. I'll search upstairs," Fet said said

"Did you hear me?" Eph said to Fet.

"Loud and clear," Fet said

"Hey. Where would I find some booze?" Dutch asked

"I don't live here anymore," Eph said

"I'll find it," Jacqueline said

She sniffs around the kitchen and then stops in front of a cabinet. She opens it and reveals several bottles of liquor.

"Now that's impressive," Dutch said pulling out a bottle.

"Just one of my many party tricks," Jacqueline said, "It's good to know that all I need to calm you down is good bottle whiskey."

Dutch just winks at the girl before drinking from the bottle.

"The house is empty," Abraham said, Eph walks over to him along with Fet, "You understand that if the worst has happened your wife will return for her son. We should take him from here, quickly."

"Yep," Eph said

"And you must get rid of that body," Abraham said

"How?" Fet asked

"We burn it," Eph said

* * *

Eph had taken Zach upstairs to pack. Right now Fet was searching through the fridge.

"You want some?" Fet asked offering Dutch a slice of meat.

"I had some bread," Dutch said

He turns to Jacqueline to ask if she wanted anything but she was already making herself a sandwich.

"Can I get you something?" Fet asked Nora, She just looks at him, "You know, if we had handled your friend the way you wanted to, we'd all be dead."

"There is no hope for those who are infected. You must understand this," Abraham said

"You don't know everything. I mean look at her," Nora said gesturing to Jacqueline, who paused in mid bite of her sandwich, "If she can still be herself why not Jim."

"Jacqueline is a rare case. She was born that way, and you still do not know the pain she faces each day," Abraham said

"I did what needed to be done," Fet said

"He's right," Dutch said

"Nobody's asking you," Nora said

"No need to be so hostile she's right ya know," Jacqueline said

Nora shoots the girl a glare. Jacqueline just looks away before eating her sandwich.

"How would you have handled it, hm? Teach me something," Fet said

"If someone was going to help him die, it should have been one of us. Someone who loved him," Nora said

"Oh. But you weren't ready to do it," Fet said before putting food in his mouth.

"I can't teach you how to be a human being. Eat your bologna," Nora said before walking out the room.

"Well if we're about done here, I'd love a ride home," Dutch said

"We're done. I'll drop you," Fet said

"Then we go to my shop. I have things there...To plan for our next battle," Abraham said

Eph comes downstairs with Zach.

"Zach is going back with you. I'll meet you in an hour. I'm trusting you with him. Please...take good care of him," Eph said

"Of course," Abraham said

"I'm trusting you," Eph said

"Yes, I know. My hearing is excellent," Abraham said

"I'm staying, too. We'll get it done faster," Nora said

"Hey, I'm Fet," Fet said introducing himself to Zach.

"Zach," The boy replied back.

Zach looks up at Jacqueline and lets out a small gasp taking a step back into his father.

"Don't worry about her. She's much nicer than she looks," Eph said

"Thank you for that," Jacqueline said sarcastically. She bends down to get at Zach's level, "Nice to meet you, Zach, I'm Jacqueline." She said sticking her hand out.

Zach slowly grabs her hand and shakes it "A-are those real?" he asked gesturing to her fangs.

"Yeah. The help me fend off bad guys. I could also probably lift your dad with one hand," Jacqueline said with a smirk.

"Cool," Zach said with a smile.

"Maybe it's weird to say, but...it hurt me, too. Seeing that happen to your friend. Even if it was the only way. Sorry," Dutch said before walking out the house.

"Hey," Eph said

He looks at his son and then wraps him in a large hug.

"Don't let the cops get you again," Zach said

"The cops are very busy, they don't have time for me," Eph said putting his son down.

"When Mom comes back, tell her I'm mad and Diane is mad, too," Zach said before walking out the house.

Jacqueline pats Eph on the back, "I promise I'll keep him safe but you've got stay safe for him too. I know what's it like to grow up without a father."

She walks out of the house just as the truck pulls off, the back door is open so she just runs and jumps in.

"Was that really necessary?" Jacqueline asked Fet.

"Nah, but it was fun to watch," Fet said chuckling.

* * *

The truck pulls up to an apartment building and Dutch stands up.

"Thanks for the lift! It's been a real blast," Dutch said

"I'm coming up with you, to make sure it's safe," Fet said getting out of the driver seat.

"Fine. I'm not making out with you, though," Dutch said

"Guess that means I'm on watch," Jacqueline said going outside and standing next to the truck.

Even though Jacqueline was outside the truck she could easily hear what was going on inside.

"Come up here, son," Abraham said

After a moment Jacqueline hears shuffling.

"What's the matter?" Abraham asked

"My mother's going to be upset about her boyfriend, Matt, being dead," Zach said

"I...I know you'll find this hard to believe, but Matt came after you because he loved you," Abraham said

"Why did you call him a vampire?" Zach asked

"Because that's...what he turned into," Abraham said

"My dad didn't use that word," Zach said

"He will. Trust me. There's power in naming things," Abraham said

"He was so mad at me," Zach said

"No, no, no. He...he was hungry. Like a rabid animal. No different. Beloved dogs turn on you after they've been bitten by a fox or...a bat or any infected animal. Think of it as rabies being passed from human to human. Mourn Matt's passing, then move on. Life will insist. You mustn't...fail life," Abraham said

"You boys okay in there?" Jacqueline asked sticking her head in the door.

"Are you a vampire too?" Zach asked Jacqueline.

"Sort off. You don't have to worry I won't bite you. But if anyone messes with just let me know and I'll bite them for you, " Jacqueline said with a wink earning a smile from Zach.

Fet came back to the truck along with Dutch who had a bag with her.

"We've been waiting we would have gone if you'd left the keys," Abraham said

"Which is why I didn't," Fet said

"Don't worry I wouldn't have let him leave you," Jacqueline said

"It wasn't good in there," Fet said

"Were there vampires?" Zach asked

"Yeah," Dutch said

"Well, then we best get moving. I assume she's coming with us," Abraham said

"She's coming with us," Fet said

"Right then, well then. Since you've decided, let's go!" Abraham said

* * *

The group quickly made it back to the pawn shop but were not greeted with a warm welcome. Standing behind the counter was an angry Mrs. Martinez.

"You think this is funny?! Leaving me here! Who are these people? I'm not cooking for them!" Mrs. Martinez said before angrily putting out her cigarette.

"Nora's mother," Abraham said

"Obviously," Fet said

"Come," Abraham said leading the group to the unground workshop, "Close the door."

"Whoa!" Zach said

"My God, it's like the Batcave," Dutch said

Abraham puts a book in front of Zach, "Read and learn. It will, uh...It will help you."

"Here this what I used to read when I was your age," Jacqueline said pulling out a book for Zach.

"You saw this coming, huh?" Fet asked Abraham.

"I hoped it wouldn't. There must be humans helping this cause," Abraham said

"Do you know who they are?" Fet asked

"No, but I can speculate. Those who are seduced by the promise of...power and who...yearn to leave a mark that will somehow elevate them. They inadvertently hurt many people, but inadvertent or not, the damage is done,' Abraham said

"May I?" Fet said picking up a gun.

"Sure. We can get the Master, the one responsible for all this but I need your help. You're...unsentimental. Precise. Not ruled by your emotions," Abraham said

"I have feelings," Fet said

"Leave the feeling to others. He's nesting. Somewhere in the city. You know New York. We could find him if we work together," Abraham said

"I'm going home to get a few things. I'll be back," Fet said walking out the door.

"Guess I should get dinner started," Jacqueline said

As she went to walk out the out the room she grabbed her head and shook it.

"You okay there?" Dutch asked

Jacqueline turned around to show that her fangs were gone, "Yeah. Just having my features revert back to human is like having a hangover."

"Sounds like it suck," Dutch said

"It does," Jacqueline said

* * *

Jacqueline had set up the table as Nora and Eph arrived.

"Ah, good," Abraham said seeing Eph.

"You're back," Zach said

"I'm back. Did Mr. Setrakian take good care of you?" Eph asked

"Yeah. Did you burn Matt's body?" Zach asked

"Yes, I did," Eph said

"Did you hear anything from Mom?" Zach asked

"No. Um...Diane came by the house. Couldn't tell her about Matt," Eph said

"She must be mad," Zach said

"She wasn't happy. She's not my biggest fan," Eph said

'She makes Mom laugh," Zach said

"That's good," Eph said

"Hey come on everyone! I made dinner y'all are gonna eat it!" Jacqueline called

Everyone but Zach and Eph made their way to the kitchen.

"So... Mom?" Zach questioned

"First thing tomorrow," Eph said

"Maybe I can help, too?" Zach asked

"Of course. We're a team," Eph said

"Hey!" Jacqueline said poking her head into the living room, "I said dinners ready, that means your butts in a chair at the table."

Eph smile and pats Zach's head before the two join everyone else in the kitchen.


	5. Third Rail

**Third Rail**

Jacqueline sat on a couch reading a book. Sitting across from her in a reclining chair was Dutch drinking.

"A little early for that don't you think," Jacqueline said not looking up from her book.

"The worlds being taken over by vampires. I think I deserve a drink," Dutch said

"Fair point," Jacqueline said

"Sooooo, where's your vampire daddy?" Dutch asked

"Dead," Jacqueline storefront answered, "And before you ask so is my mother and no my father didn't eat my mother."

Dutch nervously looks away from the girl before taking a drink out of her bottle. In the background, the radio could be heard playing.

"The President has declared a bank holiday in an attempt to stabilize the nation's teetering financial system. This latest move comes. In the wake of 23 bank failures yesterday. Despite these measures, the head of the International Monetary Fund hinted in a news conference today that the world financial system is now teetering on the brink of systematic…"

Jacqueline could hear Eph and Nora talking about Eph finding his wife. Abraham joined in the conversation telling Eph to go, but it was clear that Nora didn't feel the same way.

* * *

Everyone minus Eph, Zach, and Nora's mom were in the hidden basement room strategizing their plan.

Fet laid a map out on the table, "I tracked the epicenter of the rat-free zone right down here by the World Trade Centre. I popped down into the tunnels to investigate, ended up eye-to-eye with a few dozen of them. It was a fun day. In my opinion, attacking them head-on on their own turf seems like a good way for us all to die. The thing about rats is they always have a backdoor. That's why it's so tricky to catch them. I bet that the vamps...I bet you they have one, too. So this is my thinking, alright? We have to look at all the decommissioned tunnels and lines near the World Trade Centre," Fet dragged his finger across the map, "Which this map...Doesn't help us very much. It'd be great to get online. I know this great transit archive on there. The Internet's for shit, so…"

Abraham looked over at Dutch who was trying to open up a candy bar, "Yeah, sorry about for that."

"About what?" Nora asked

"I brought it down," Dutch said

"Uh...I think I missed that," Fet said

"Yeah, not just me, my crew. An old rich guy hired us to interrupt mobile services and...crash most Internet traffic," Dutch said

"Eldritch Palmer," Abraham said

"For fuck's sake," Jacqueline groaned out.

"Preventing the spread of information," Fet said

"And you helped him?!" Nora said

Dutch looked up at the group a look of guilt present on her face, "I never wanted to hurt people. I have been trying to figure out a way to make things right."

"Can you do that?" Nora asked

"Maybe. If I can get back into Palmer's offices," Dutch said

"How would you get access?" Nora said

"I could get her in. Use my city credentials. Fly under the radar," Fet said

"Sure, I could be your boss," Dutch said

"Assistant," Fet said

"Boss," Dutch argued back.

"Details. I always wanted to get into that building," Fet said giving a slight smirk.

Dutch gave a small smile back.

Jacqueline smirked, "Not even a day and the sexual tension is so high," Jacqueline thought.

"Okay if you two are going to go to the man who helped spread the vampire virus you're gonna need some protection," Jacqueline said pulling out two guns.

"They can't just walk in there with guns and knives," Nora said

"Who said anything about knives," Jacqueline said

Jacqueline walks over to a drawer and pulls out a silver pocket watch and a silver cross, she hands one to Fet and Dutch.

"Here you go, the cross is sharp so it makes good for stabbing," Jacqueline said

"And the pocket watch?" Dutch asked

"Oh, it's just a pocket watch," Jacqueline said

* * *

Jacqueline sat on a stool sharpening her rapier.

"How do you think they're doing?" Jacqueline asked Nora.

"Well the internets still not up, so I'd say not well," Nora said

"Great," Jacqueline said sarcastically, "Hopefully they're not dead."

Abraham entered the room and brought out several maps and laid them out on the table.

"We must find a way to the Master's nest," Abraham said

"How'd you get these?" Nora asked

"You discover many things when you work in a pawn shop," Abraham said

Jacqueline set down her weapon and started to join in on the planning.

"The only way to ensure we're right is go down there-,"

Nora was cut off when she looked up and saw Eph coming down the stairs. She quickly got up and walked over to him. Eph looked frustrated as he took out his gun and took out the magazine before throwing it onto a table.

"It's night. I was worried," Nora said

"Nothing," Eph said slowly pulling Nora into a hug.

The door opened again and in came Dutch and Fet.

"And the gang's all here," Jacqueline said

"Guess we're not the only ones that struck out, huh?" Eph said

"No luck with the wife, huh?" Dutch said

"Oh, you're still here? Who invited you here, exactly?" Eph said with an attitude.

"Rude," Jacqueline said

"She's here just the rest of us. Who put you in charge?" Fet said

"The director of the Centres for Disease Control put me in charge," Eph said in an authoritative tone.

"You know what? I don't need this shit. If you don't want me, that's absolutely no problem. I am gone," Dutch said heading to the stairs.

"Hey, hey, hey," Fet said pulling her back, "It's not his decision. Alright? Just ignore him. He doesn't speak for all of us."

Dutch tries to pull away but Fet pulls her back, "It's too dangerous. At least just wait 'til morning."

"He's got a point ya know," Jacqueline said

"I would rather take my chances out there than be stuck in here with you assholes!" Dutch yelled before running up the stairs.

"Great," Fet said looking at Eph.

"You got a better deal out there, be my guest," Eph said

Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs and Zach appeared.

"Dad?" Zach called out.

"Hey, buddy," Eph said

"Did you find Mom?" Zach asked

"Dr. Goodweather, Nora, Jacqueline and I were just about to go over what we discovered," Abraham said

"Just a minute," Eph said before leading his son upstairs.

"Someone's got an attitude problem," Jacqueline said

"Hey!" Nora said to Jacqueline.

"What?" Jacqueline said raising an eyebrow, "What he said to Dutch was a little uncalled for."

"He's going through a lot," Nora said

"Oh, and he's the only one suffering. So far all I've seen Eph do is bitch and complain while we're trying to work out a plan to fix everything before the world goes to complete shit. He also just made the only person who could possibly fix the internet leave. So until he can pull his head out his own ass, I'm gonna be a little reluctant to feel some sympathy for him," Jacqueline said before going upstairs.

Jacqueline ran upstairs and to the pawn shop seeing Dutch open the stores gate.

"Hey!" Jacqueline said getting the woman's attention.

"Don't try to stop-!"

Dutch stopped when Jacqueline put a gun in her face.

"Here," Jacqueline said handing it over to the woman, "If you're gonna go be stupid enough to go out there at least be smart enough to take your gun."

Dutch looks at the girl and then back at the gun. She takes it from her hand before running out the shop.

Jacqueline lets out a sigh and closes the door locking it. As she turned around she saw Fet.

"She'll be fine," Jacqueline said

"Hope so," Fet said

"Let's get something to eat. All this drama is making me hungry," Jacqueline said pulling Fet out the room.

* * *

The next day Jacqueline was with Fet helping him work on a little project.

"So you connect these wires here," Fet explained

"Like this?" Jacqueline asked

"No, no like this," Fet said grabbing her hands and helping her. Once it growling properly Jacqueline smiled up at Fet.

"Thanks, technologies never been a strong suit of mine," Jacqueline said

"I think you're getting the hang of it," Fet said smiling back.

"They're coming," Zach said coming downstairs holding a phone. He pointed the camera on the phone at Fet and Jacqueline recording a video.

"Uh...alright. UV light bomb test," Fet said to the camera, "Got the blood?" Fet asked Jacqueline.

Jacqueline held up a petri dish of her blood flashing it at the camera, "One vial of vampire blood. The UV light won't work on me but it will if it comes in direct contact with my blood, that is if it's strong enough." Jacqueline set the petri dish right under the bulb.

Eph came down the stairs and once he spotted his son he scooped the young boy into his arms, "Hey! No, no, no. Come on! Come on!" The two went around a corner and Eph covered his son's eyes.

"Now I can't see anything," Zach said

"That's right. It's better than burning out your retinas looking at the UVC rays," Eph said putting on some goggles and looking around the corner.

"No fair," Zach said sticking his phone around the corner.

Fet put on a welding mask along with Jacqueline.

Abraham leaned over the railing of the stairs.

"This is a...good idea?" Abraham asked

"Uh... Well, we're about to find out. Fire in the hole!" Fet yelled as Jacqueline flipped a switch.

The light bomb charged up then Fet touched two wires together. A static charge was heard along with a loud pop. Jacqueline jumped when a small fire started.

"You might want to put that out," Eph said

Fet jumped up cursing as he ran over to the fire. Jacqueline tossed him a fire extinguisher and he put it out.

"What happened?" Zach asked

"In engineering terms, uh...You'd call that a fail," Fet said

"An epic fail," Zach said

"Well, light was strong while it lasted. Was it long enough to hurt them?" Fet said

Jacqueline pulled out her petri dish of blood, "It's only singed."

"Need to keep the bulbs bright enough to do the job without burning them out so fast," Fet said

"Well if it were me, I would make the lights cycle on and off, strobe like a camera flash. That might stop the bulbs from burning out," Eph said

"Huh. I could rig up a fog machine too, you know, crank some tunes, really get 'em dancing. Just boom, boom, boom," Fet said making Jacqueline giggle.

"Forget I mentioned it. Do what you want," Eph said

"I'm just joking, Doc. I'm not saying I disagree because I do agree with you. Don't fall off your high horse. Problem is, is that...Well, we can't do any more tests. I could put the rest of our bulbs in. Tinker with the circuit board, put in an oscillator...But we're gonna have to go with what we end up with. Hope for the best," Fet said

"Mr. Fet, you've just described my method of operation for the past six decades," Abraham said

* * *

Jacqueline sat next to Zach watching Nora's mother, Mariela, have a freakout. She was tossing things around the kitchen, looking through every shelf and draw. Zach and Jacqueline jumped at the sound of glass shattering.

"What do we do?" Zach asked

"I don't know," Jacqueline said, "I think it'd be best if we just stay out of her way."

Nora came running into the room, "Mama, what are you doing?!"

"I can't find anything in this damn kitchen!" Mariela said before she started sobbing.

"Apparently she's searching for an ashtray she once owned from the Alvear Hotel, Buenos Aires," Abraham said

"I know it's here somewhere," Mariela said

Nora let out a sigh lightly grabbing her mother, "Mama...That broke years ago. I'll clean it up. This is not your kitchen," She said gesturing to the mess Mariela made.

"An ashtray here," Abraham said handing it to Nora as Mariela lit a cigarette.

"Thank you," Nora said

"I don't like him," Mariela said gesturing to Abraham.

"Mr. Setrakian is our host," Nora said

"He has a dark soul," Mariela said

Jacqueline raises an eyebrow looking at Mariela.

Mariela and Nora talk back and forth in Spanish before Mariela leaves the room.

"I'm sorry," Nora said

"I understand what she's experiencing," Abraham said

"She's wrong, what she said about you," Nora said

"No, she's not," Abraham said before walking out the room having Jacqueline follow him.

Jacqueline stopped her grandfather grabbing his shoulder, "Bunic….she is wrong, because a dark soul would have never cared for me like you did."

Abraham gives his granddaughter a saddened look before putting his hand over Jacqueline's. He slowly takes the girl's hand off his shoulder before walking away.

* * *

Jacqueline tucked a gun into the holster on her thigh then dropped her skirt.

"Ya know, I gotta ask why the skirt?" Fet asked coming up behind the girl.

"It's easy to move in and I can hide guns better. You'd be surprised how many places you can get a gun if it's hidden by a skirt," Jacqueline said

"Yeah and I bet a nice pair of legs makes a good distraction," Fet said with a smirk.

Jacqueline just smiled and gave a playful wink to the man.

"Aren't you afraid of a little…" Fet whistled while he flipped his hands up mimicking a skirt flipping up.

"Trust me, there are much worse things that can happen then everyone seeing my underwear. But just in case I always a cute pair," Jacqueline said with a smile still on her face, before she walks out of the front of the shop.

Fet's smirked bigger and he shakes his head before following the girl out of the shop. Nora was out in front giving her mother a goodbye hug. Neither Fet nor Jacqueline disturb the two seeing as this was an emotional moment. The two hop onto their stolen bread van, Fet gets in the driver's seat while Jacqueline makes her way to the back.

Nora and Abraham get on the van next getting in the back with Jacqueline.

Abraham approaches Nora and hands her something, "This was the, uh...Weapon Jim Kent chose to use. You would honor him by taking it."

"Thank you," Nora said

In the distance, ambulance sirens could be heard blaring. Ever since the solar eclipse, it sounded like that's all you heard from outside, other than screaming.

Eph walked out of the store his son following him.

"When will you be back?" Zach asked

"Sundown, absolute latest," Eph said

"That's the whole day!" Zach exclaimed

"Hopefully sooner," Eph said

"What about Mom?" Zach asked

"I think the best thing is to, uh...take out that...The thing that's causing all this. Mr. Setrakian has a plan," Eph said

"I understand, but why can't I come with you?" Zach asked

"I don't know what's out there. I...I can't control that environment, but here...You've seen Mr. Setrakian's basement, it's a fortress, it's an armory. It's the most safe place I could imagine for you," Eph said

"Trust your Dad Zach!" Jacqueline yelled out getting the two's attention, "He may not be right about a lot of things but this is one thing he's 100% right about. Staying here is the best option for you. He wants to keep you safe because he loves you. Besides who'll defend the shop?" Jacqueline said giving the boy a smile.

Zach looked at the young woman and then back at his Dad. He gave a sad sigh before looking up at Eph, "You'll be careful, right?"

"Of course. I promise. In the meantime, keep an eye on Mrs. Martinez," Eph said

"Shouldn't that be the other way around?" Zach said

"Should be. But you're in charge. You stay in the basement. Both of you. Don't let anybody see you," Eph said

"Ok," Zach said

"Time to go," Fet said starting the truck.

Eph gives Zach one more hug then closes the storefront gate locking it. Eph hops into the truck giving his son one last look before the truck pulled off.

"Uhm thanks...for saying that," Eph said awkwardly to Jacqueline.

"Kids still young. Seeing stuff like this will make you grow up real quick, trust me," Jacqueline said

* * *

As the group drove down the street they could see people acting like maniacs. Stores were being looted, people were protesting, some were fighting. It was just chaos.

"Everybody's having fun now," Fet said

"Every man for himself. That's what the Master is counting on," Abraham said

"Man shall be his own downfall," Jacqueline said

The sound of glass shattering and an alarm blaring could be heard as a group of people run out of a store carrying obviously stolen stuff. A woman booked it down the street carry a flat screen tv, as a group of men fell over each other trying to run away with their stolen prizes. A fight broke out in front of a soup kitchen and it quickly escalated turning violent.

The group stares at the madness different expressions on each of their faces.

* * *

Fet pulled up the truck to their destination and parked. Everyone filed out of the truck grabbing their weapons. They made their way down a flight of stairs keeping their eyes out for anything.

"Why the World Trade Center?" Eph asked

"The Master is drawn to places of great human misery. He seeks out suffering," Abraham said

"Eau de strigoi. I think we're in the right place," Fet said

They made their way to the subway line. The place was completely deserted. Fet pulled out a flashlight looking down the subways long tunnel.

"The cave you fear to enter…" Abraham said

"...Holds the treasure that you seek," Eph said

The group went into the tunnel taking cautious steps. Fet was in the front while Eph was in the back since they had the only working UV lights.

The UV light lit up the saliva that the Strigoi left behind.

"Oh, God," Nora said as she stepped in a pile of it.

"With any luck, Dr. Martinez, it's gonna get a hell of a lot messier than this," Abraham said

As they got deeper into the tunnel everyone brought out flashlights, besides Jacqueline. One of the perks of being part Vampire was excellent night vision a downside though was the subway tunnel smelled like shit and her sense of smell was better than a dog's.

Sloshing water could be heard as they stepped in various puddles in the tunnel. The group walked on following the trail of Strigoi saliva and other excrements.

"Stay to the right! The third rail. I don't know if it's live down here, but, uh...that's 625 volts, we don't want to find out," Fet said

Eph's foot kicks something and he shines his flashlight down to see what it is. He bends down and picks up a wallet opening it. As the group walks on the see various other objects lying about on the ground, each one a memento that represented the person that they once belonged to. Jewelry, purses, wallets, phones, pictures, and clothing all around the tunnel.

"It's everything that defined these people," Nora said

"Well, I hope I'm defined by more than just my wallet and my wristwatch," Fet said

"Everything you see represents somebody's mother, father, son, daughter," Nora said

"Don't bother," Eph said

Jacqueline paused for a moment when she saw a plush bunny lying on the ground. She looked down sadly at the stuffed toy before continuing on. The group stepped over some abandoned construction equipment entering another tunnel.

"No more graffiti," Eph said looking at the walls.

"The station was abandoned after 9/11. Doubt anyone's been here since. Anyone still human that is," Eph said

The group followed the trail to a small room where growling could be heard. They looked inside to see various Strigoi, laying out on the ground seeming to be asleep. They growled and hissed, and some even twitched.

"They're nesting," Eph said whispering.

"During daylight hours, always. Especially when first turned. The, uh, transformation, it exhausts them," Abraham whispered back.

"That's a lot of necks to chop," Fet said

"No. Releasing them...would alert the Master to our presence. Switch off," Abraham gestured to everyone's flashlights.

Everyone turns off their lights, while they bring out their weapons. Fet brings out a large machete.

"Nice choice," Jacqueline whispered as she brought out her rapier, "I'll take lead, don't break form."

Jacqueline leads the way across the nesting Strigoi, taking each step cautiously.

"Kelly?" Eph questioned looking at a Strigoi. He walks over heading to the woman Strigoi.

"Don't break-" Then Nora follows Eph, "Didn't I just say don't break form," Jacqueline whispered out in an exasperated tone, "If your asses get munched don't blame me," She said to herself.

Eph bends down close to the Strigoi studying its face.

"Eph, it's not her," Nora said

"We must keep moving," Abraham said

"Next time don't break form," Jacqueline said as they make their way out of the room.

* * *

After leaving the Strigoi infested room the group ends up in a different more lit tunnel.

"Look. The rails are clean here," Nora said

"Ah, service cars. They use the abandoned stations for turnarounds. I know these tunnels like the back of my hand," Fet said, "Now, this line was built on top of the old original 1923 line. Yeah, it's like, uh...Ancient Rome or the City of David."

As Fet talked there was a screeching noise in the distance.

"Shhh!" Eph said shutting Fet up.

"We were hearing that the whole time, Doc," Fet said

"No, no, this is different," Eph said

"These tunnels, they do strange things to sounds. You know, like whispering chambers. You know? If there's a train coming, we're gonna know it, OK? Come on," Fet said

"No, he's right," Jacqueline said looking back.

As soon as she said that the ground starts to shake slightly. Around the corner came a light quickly followed by the sound of an oncoming train.

"Run!" Jacqueline yelled

"Go!" Nora yelled

The group rounds a corner where there's no railing finding a safe spot just as the train goes drawer. Everyone's hair flew back as the train created wind as it sped by.

"You were saying?!" Eph yelled over the sound of the train.

* * *

"I know these tunnels like the back of my hand," Eph said mocking Fet while using his accent, "For future reference, that's the back of your hand. That's your ass. That's your elbow." Eph said hitting each one.

"You want to take lead, yeah? Take point? Then go ahead. Be my guest. Go for it, Doc," Fet said

"I'm sick of this Brooklyn-pride shit. Save it for somebody who cares," Eph said

"You're used to having the last word, huh, Doc? How does it feel to know that a pawnbroker, his vampire granddaughter, and a rat killer know more than you do, huh?" Fet said with a mocking smile.

"You've been waiting for this your whole life, haven't you? Congratulations on the vampire apocalypse," Eph said stopping and getting in Fet's face.

"The first will be last. The last shall be first, Doc," Fet said not backing down.

"Enough! Both of you! Pay attention!" Abraham said breaking the two apart.

"I think I'm choking on the levels of testosterone in here," Jacqueline whispered to Nora. Nora seemed to find the joke funny but held back her smile.

footsteps Growling could be heard as they made it to an intersection of the tunnel. A Strigoi in a business suit shambled by and Fet immediately brought out a nail gun.

"We cannot afford to be seen. Not yet," Abraham said holding his hand up.

The Strigoi was about to turn their way until its foot steps on the third rail and it let out a screech as it's shocked to death.

"It's a shitty way to go, even for them. Now, I know another way to kill them," Eph said

"Next outing, you carry the power transformer," Fet said

"I've got a taser, that might do something," Jacqueline said

"She was heading this way, so we're close," Abraham said

"Just be careful," Fet said

As they got deeper into the tunnel system more growling could be heard. They followed the growling turning a corner but they all freeze when they meet a wall.

"What the hell? Where did all the vamps go?" Fet questioned

"Where'd they...How did they get through?" Eph said

Jacqueline walked forward stopping in front of a small hole in the wall, "I think I know how."

"If I were hunting rats, this is exactly where I'd assume they'd go," Fet said

"Or if this is a trap," Abraham said

"Goddamn it!" Eph said

He takes off his UV light and holds it close to him as he starts to get into the hole.

"Maybe I should go fir…." Jacqueline stops mid-sentence when she sees Eph is already halfway in the hole, "Or not."

Everyone waits with bated breath as Eph disappears completely into the small hole. Jacqueline could hear him struggling as he forces himself through the small crevice. As everyone focused on the hole Jacqueline quickly snaps her head back looking behind her.

"All clear," Eph's voice called out.

"But not here," Jacqueline whispered.

"What?" Fet asked Jacqueline.

The man's question pocket watch when the growl of Strigoi echoes out.

"Shit. Behind us," Nora said as a group of Strigoi comes into view.

"Go. Hurry. I'll hold them off," Fet said

"He knows we're here now," Abraham said

"Oh well, all the more reason to hurry," Fet said

Nora holds up the UV light facing the Strigoi as Abraham crawls into the hole first. The Strigoi all gathered around the opening of the room then stalked their way in.

Jacqueline could hear her grandfather yelling out to Eph.

"God damn it," Jacqueline cursed under her breath.

"Something's happening," Nora said

"Holding them off with the light isn't gonna get it done," Fet said

One of the Strigoi screeches before is lunges forward. Nora quickly brings out her gun shooting it. The monster falls back in a wall its skin sizzling where the silver bullets hit it. Fet brings out his gun along with Jacqueline and all three continue to shoot.

"Go! Go now! Go!" Fet yelled and Nora crawled in the hole.

"Most kills win," Jacqueline joked despite the situation.

"You always make jokes?" Eph asked smirking as he took out his machete.

"It's a coping mechanism," Jacqueline said as she brought out her rapier.

The two start cutting off heads thinning the numbers. Once Nora was fully in the hole Fet gestures to it.

"Go!" Fet said to Jacqueline.

"No, you go!" Jacqueline said

Before Fet could rebuttal Jacqueline kicks a Strigoi knocking it back into another one then stabs them both through the head. She then pushes Fet back forcing him to the hole.

Jacqueline looked up to see more Strigoi coming.

" _Wyjątkowy, come to me,"_ A voice whispered in Jacqueline's head.

"Double shit," Jacqueline cursed

"Come on!" Fet yelled once he was in the hole.

Jacqueline immediately crawls into the hole her feet right behind Fet's boots. The two crawl as quickly as they can that is until Jacqueline's face smashes into Fet's boots.

"Fet!?" Jacqueline called out.

"Gaaah! Gah! Ah! I'm stuck!" Fet yelled

Jacqueline here's growling and knows one of the Strigoi had crawled into the hole.

"Triple shit!" Jacqueline yelled

Jacqueline pushes up on Fet as he forcefully pushes himself through the hole. Nora reaches into the tunnel and grabs Fet's hand pulling him. Jacqueline lets out a yell as the Strigoi gets closer.

"Go! Go!" Nora yelled pulling Fet out the hole.

Fet quickly gets up and reaches into the hole grabbing onto Jacqueline as the Strigoi gets close. She kicks the vampire in the head stunning it for a second as Fet yanks her out the hole and she falls into his arms. The Strigoi's upper body comes out the hole and Nora quickly grabs the UV light and shines in it on the vampire making it screech and retreat back into the hole. She puts the light inside the hole making it crawl further back.

"You okay?" Fet asked Jacqueline helping her up.

"Yeah, yeah," Jacqueline said

"Ya know you're really strong," Fet said referring to when Jacqueline pushed him in the hole as he tried to lighten the mood.

"Thanks," Jacqueline said giving a small smile.

"Where are they?" Nora said looking around.

There was no Abraham nor Eph insight.

"Let's go," Fet said

The three run on, clumped together in a tight circle keeping alert.

" _Wyjątkowy!"_

Jacqueline falls to her knees grabbing her head.

"What?! What's wrong?!" Fet said running back to Jacqueline.

"He's close, and he's got Eph," Jacqueline said pressing her temple.

"Eph? How do you know?" Nora asked frantically.

"No time," Jacqueline said as she stood up shaking her head.

The three take off running and come upon a tunnel. They jump over some derby leading to a large room spotting a large figure holding Eph up by his neck. Fet tosses his machete to Nora as he grabs his UV bomb.

Jacqueline hits a button and the weapon charges up as Fet tossed it forward. The Master drops Eph as the weapon lands right next to him. Fet presses a button and the UV light flashes making all the Strigoi screech. The light continues to strobe as The Master shields himself escaping. The rest of the Strigoi yell and screech as the strobe light is too much for them and they fall to ground dying. Once they were all dead Fet cut the light off and smoke rose from the weapon.

"Did anyone see? Which way did he go? Which path?" Abraham said

Nora walks over to Eph as the man sat up coughing and grabbing his throat a large bruise already forming on his neck.

Jacqueline walked over to a tunnel and stood at the mouth of it staring off into it.

"We had him," Fet said

"No, he had us," Nora said before turning to Eph, "Are you OK?"

"I think so," Eph choked out.

"You saw him?" Nora asked

"Yeah, I saw him. I heard her voice. Kelly. She was calling out to me. He tricked me," Eph said

"Of course, he tricked you!" Abraham yelled

"How could you run off like that? Hmm? We ended up hunting for you instead of that thing!" Fet said

"Why did you ignite the light bomb? It chased him away!" Abraham yelled

"We had no choice!" Fet yelled

"He was right there! Right within my grasp! Now gone! I'll not rest until the Master is destroyed! And now, neither will he!" Abraham yelled picking up a hatchet. He walks over to The Master's coffin and smashes it with the hatchet, "I'll break you, you...strigoi! Kill you! Die, you! Die, strigoi!" Abraham continues to hack away at the coffin as he continues to scream.

"Jacqueline! Do something about-Jacqueline?" Nora said looking at the girl.

Jacqueline continues to stare off into the tunnel unmoving.

"Jacqueline. Hey, Jacqueline!" Fet said walking over to the girl. He puts a hand on her shoulder but she doesn't move, "Jacqueline! Jacqueline!" Fet said shaking the girl.

Jacqueline finally comes out of her stupor and turns her head facing Fet.

"You okay?" Fet asked

"Yeah…." Jacqueline said

She turns away from the tunnel and walks over to her grandfather. She grabs his arm mid-swing.

"Bunic stop," Jacqueline said as she took the hatchet out of his hand, "Calm down, please. I'll do it." Jacqueline lightly pushes Abraham away and swings away destroying the rest of the coffin.

Once the deed was done Abraham rushes down the tunnel Jacqueline had been staring into.

"Bunic wait!" Jacqueline said

"No. This way!" Abraham yelled

"How did you know he went this way?" Nora asked

"The Master is here somewhere," Abraham said

"We should think this out, regroup," Nora said

"And let them regroup? Why would we do that? We may not get this chance again," Abraham said

The group comes upon a three-way intersection one leading into a hole in the wall while the other two led deeper into the sewer. Abraham looks down each way no sign of which way the Master went.

"Goddamnit!" Abraham yelled

"Tough choice here, huh?" Fet said

"That's basically a random choice," Eph said

"No! Jacqueline!" Abraham said

"Bunic I don't think-"

"Jacqueline!" Abraham yelled at the girl making her frown.

"Bunic! I understand but no! It's too dangerous!" Jacqueline yelled scowling at Abraham.

Abraham scowls back at his granddaughter and steps forward about to go in the hole.

"Whoa, look…" Eph said grabbing Abraham's shoulder pulling him back, "I get it, I'm on your side, but this is crazy."

"We've got him on the run! We must press on! Do what you like!" Abraham yelled yanking himself forward.

"Stop!" Eph said

"Hold on! Flashlights off. UV only. Huh?" Fet said pulling out his UV light. He shines it on the opening of the hole showing the saliva of the Strigoi was all over the opening.

"You see? I was right! Now, let me go!" Abraham said

"Stop! Wait," Fet said

"What are we waiting for?" Abraham asked

Fet pulls out a flare and tosses it into the hole. The room was illuminated and hundreds upon hundreds of Strigoi were huddled in the room.

"That's a lot of monsters," Fet said

Abraham goes to step in but Fet and Jacqueline pull him back.

"Bunic no!" Jacqueline said

"No way, Pops!" Fet said

"He is here! Unhand me!" Abraham yelled

"For God's sake, this is suicide!" Eph said

"No! No! No! No!" Abraham yelled as he was dragged from the hole.

*Wyjątkowy - Roughly means Unique or Special one


	6. Last Rites

**Last Rites**

Fet unlocked the gates to the shop and pulled them open. Everyone filed into the pawn shop and Jacqueline closed the gates back up. The air was heavy with tension, as the previous events ran through everyone's mind.

"Zack, we're back!" Eph called out. He walked towards the hidden

basement doors, "Zack, we're back." Eph opened the door revealing his son.

"Dad!" Zach said happily jumping onto his dad.

"I'm so sorry we didn't come back when I said we would," Eph apologized

"It's alright. Did you get him?" Zach asked

Eph let out a heavy sigh looking at his son. "No. I got close. I guess close doesn't count though."

Nora's Mother came upstairs greeting her daughter, "Finally." She sighed hugging Nora.

"Everything OK here?" Eph asked Zach.

"Yep. Fine," Zach replied

"Sure?" Eph said

"Yep," Zach affirmed

Abraham bypassed everyone and made his way downstairs. He walked over to a table that had something on it, but the object was covered by a blanket. He pulled the blanket off revealing a jar. Inside the jar was a heart but it didn't look like a normal heart. It was decaying and the flesh was white. The heartbeat inside the jar indicating that it was still somehow alive.

Abraham sat down in a chair next to the heart and took out his medication quickly swallowing the pills. He gazed at the heart with a poignant expression placing his hand lightly on it.

"Please, give me strength….."

" _500 leks."_

" _Sir, no."_

" _800 leks. I'm just taking her up the river."_

 _A younger Abraham bartered with a man for a horse. In his youth, Abraham had stark black hair and stood tall showing his confidence and strength to the world._

" _No, no," The seller declared tending to the horse._

" _It's not the price, is it? It's the destination. The castle? The ruins? Has anyone else enquired about Castle Drisht recently? A German? Well-dressed? Only comes at night?" Abraham questioned the man._

 _The man gave Abraham a slightly startled look before grabbing his horses reins and pulling it away doing his best to quickly leave Abraham's sight._

 _Abraham did not give up and continued to question the man, "Are there any people missing from the villages?"_

 _The man got further and further away until Abraham called out to him._

" _2000 lek. I buy her. 2000."_

 _Abraham pulled his newly acquired horse down a worn dirt path leading it to a log cabin. He tied the horse up outside then made his way inside. As soon as he entered the home he was greeted with a warm kiss from a young beautiful woman._

" _Miriam!" Abraham said happily returning the kiss. "That farmer was terrified. He could sense an evil presence. We're so close this time, so close."_

 _Miriam made her way over to a chair letting out a slight groan as she sat down. Miriam walked with a crutch but her mobility was even more greatly hindered by the extra weight coming from her stomach region. Abraham and Miriam believed that they were unable to have children of their own but by some miracle, Miriam fell pregnant. There was still a chance that the baby might not survive so they kept it a secret until the birth._

" _Abraham, you have said these words before," Miriam said rubbing her swollen stomach._

" _He's here, I know it," Abraham asserted pulling out a large pack and started to pack supplies. "A victory here would validate our lives' work and avenge the deaths of Frankel and Jurgis, and shame those who have denounced us. The castle is a half-day's ride. I'll be back before sundown."_

 _Miriam looked at her husband with a worried expression before using her cruth to stand back up, "Promise me...if you see signs of nesting, you will get away. You should not do this alone."_

" _I'm never alone, Miriam. You're with me every step," Abraham said_

" _Please, Abraham...do not let vengeance cloud your vision," Miriam said_

" _I know your heart, I know the toll my obsessions have taken on our lives and the sacrifices you have made. After this is finished, we'll settle down in peace. Just like you've always wanted. For you," Abraham moved his hand down to his wife's stomach, "And for the little one," He said before bringing Miriam into a hug._

" _Until sundown. No later," Miriam stated with tears in her eyes._

* * *

Abraham was shaken from his thoughts when Nora came in holding a drink. She walked over handing the cup to Abraham, "Next time."

"Do you know how long I have hunted him? My last encounter with him was...decades ago. There may be no next time," Abraham said

"You should rest," Nora said

"Please, Dr. Martinez, leave me alone," Abraham countered

Nora turned away she finally noticed the heart in the jar. "What is this? Is this a vampire heart? How did you...How old is it?"

"I asked you to leave me alone," Abraham grumbled

"You've kept it here, why?" Nora asked

"Stop with your questions!" Abraham ordered

* * *

Nora and Eph stood around Fet as he rolled out a map on a table showing the subway system, "Best approximation, we were right about here when we saw that horde of vamps in the tunnel. A radius of half a block in either direction."

"Yeah. OK, is nobody gonna bring this up but me? You guys saw what happened with Setrakian back there," Eph said

"Oh...He was upset. It's understandable," Fet said

"Upset? He wanted the five of us to take on maybe a thousand vampires. That did happen. You saw that, right?" Eph said

"He's been on this hunt for a long time, Doc," Fet said

"So, it was just a senior moment? Is nobody questioning this but me?!" Eph ranted

"I think you're overreacting," Fet said

"I hear you, but what choice do we have?" Nora said

"OK, good to know. So it is just me," Eph said

"Ya know," Everyone jumped turning around to see Jacqueline leaning against a wall, "If you wanna talk about by my grandfather behind his back you should at least be a little more subtle about it."

Before anyone could speak a banging noise catches their attention and they all look towards the front of the store to see Dutch.

"Well well well…." Jacqueline drawled with a smirk.

"Would you look at that?" Fet said walking over to the door. He unlocked the door and gate letting Dutch in.

"What happened? Is everyone OK?" Dutch asked

"As good as can be expected," Fet stated. "Did you bring us some pizzas in there or what?" He gestured to Dutch's bag.

"Better. I brought you a plan," Dutch said

"We don't need any more plans; what we need is a win," Eph said

"OK then. I've brought you a win," Dutch boasted with a confident smirk.

"Then let's get started," Jacqueline said her smirk getting wider.

* * *

Dutch set down her bag and started to pull out various technical equipment. "I'm gonna set up here, OK?"

"Where did you steal that stuff from?" Eph questioned

"Look, I get it, yeah. We're never gonna be best mates. It breaks my heart, truly," Dutch had heavy sarcasm in voice. "But you need me even if you don't know it yet."

"Oh, is this the time where I remind you that you broke the Internet?" Eph remarked.

"Ever heard of the Emergency Alert System?" Dutch said

"It's that thing that always interrupts the radio and television. Now, 'This is only a test,' right?" Fet said

"Established to allow the president to address the nation in a time of war or national crisis, for 50 years throughout various incarnations. It's never been used, not once. Not even on 9-11," Dutch explained

"Well, that's because we have 24-hour news stations now," Nora interjected

"Broadcasting bullshit stories about strange influenzas, random violence, celebrity weddings," Fet rambled

"Yeah we were pretty connected when all you had to do was a pull a screen out of your pocket and check up on the latest crap," Jacqueline said

"I can cut through all that noise. Broadcast, cable, satellite." Dutch held up a camera pointing it at Eph, "I can put you on every television and radio in this country, unfiltered and uncensored."

Everyone looked at each other, Nora and Eph in disbelief while Jacqueline and Fet looked impressed.

"I'm an escaped fugitive wanted for murder, who's going to believe me?" Eph said

"Use that notoriety, Doc. People know who you are, that you worked for the CDC. Make some noise. Get people talking!" Dutch said

"Hmm, with your charm, the sky's the limit," Fet jested at Eph.

"It actually could work," Nora said

"I mean if she can bring down the internet compared to that this seems this pretty easy," Jacqueline stated

Dutch turned to Eph, "Now, figure out what you can say in about 30 to 40 seconds to wake up the world."

* * *

Abraham stayed in solitude letting his mind drift off. He laid down on a makeshift bed resting his head on a worn out pillow. He let out a sigh as he closed his eyes, memories starting to flood his mind once again.

 _Abraham was on a horse riding through a forest, a small stream to his right. As he continued on he could hear the calls of nature wafting through the trees. The horse beneath him snorted as he came upon an old abandoned stone building. He got off the horse and walked beside it until he came upon an old stone well. Spotting his target he tied the horse up and walked over to the well. As he got closer something that glinting in from the sunlight caught his attention._

 _He stepped over to the object to see a pile of various possessions. He picked up one of the things revealing it to be a pocket watch. He dropped the object back in the pile and stood over the well peering down into it._

 _The well was deep and dark the light from the sun barely reaching the bottom of it. He dropped a pebble inside testing the depth of the well and it was quite deep, but as hit the bottom it made a loud thud but no splash signaling that the well was devoid of all water._

 _Abraham grabbed some rope and tied it to a sturdy rock tugging it a few times to make sure it was secure. He then dropped the rope down the well and proceeded to climb down it. The rope strained beneath his weight as Abraham scaled down the deep hole. Once Abraham's feet touched the bottom of the well he looked around seeing a large hole on the side of the wells wall. He set down his bag and unstrapped his cane, which hid his secret blade. He pulled out a helmet that had a bulb built on top of it and a flashlight turning them both on. He put his bag back on and crawled his way through the hole._

 _Abraham forced his way through the hole until he came upon a large open room with a cave-like system. He pulled out his sword and walked on, where he quickly came upon a large rusted gated. He cautiously opens it going inside letting his sword stay in front of him the whole time._

 _The sun slowly set outside as Abraham trudged through the tunnels underground._

 _Abraham's foot stepped in a small puddle of water the small splashing noise echoing through the tunnel. The echoing of the water was the only sound in the tunnel until a low growling entered Abraham's ears. The growling continued as Abraham trekked on, he turned a corner and discovered multiple strigoi huddled together nesting in a large room. As he shined his light on the strigoi they were all splayed out on the ground sleeping. He moved his flashlight up and was slightly startled to see one of the strigoi up and awake staring right back at him._

 _Abraham raised his sword ready to end the strigoi until it opens its mouth._

" _Professore." It said in a deep ominous voice, "The sun is setting, Professore….and you are so far from home."_

 _It didn't take long for the words to sink into Abraham. "Miriam!" With the cry of his lover's name, Abraham ran out heading for the entrance of the well. He panted as he crawled back through the hole where the well was. As he stood up he quickly looked for the rope that he had used to climb down, but it wasn't there._

" _You have been hunting too long, Jew."_

 _Abraham quickly looked up to see Eichhorst standing over the well peering down at him._

" _I knew you would not be able to resist such an inviting trap." Eichhorst gloated_

" _Eichhorst!" Abraham spat out the man's name in disgust._

" _I leave you here to ponder your mistakes," Eichhorst said_

" _No! Eichhorst!" Abraham yelled_

 _Eichhorst smirked and gave Abraham a small wave before he vanished._

" _Eichhorst! Come back and face me!" Abraham bellowed out._

* * *

Jacqueline carried a large bag of supplies for Dutch up to the roof. Fet joined the two woman observing Dutch as she worked.

"Where do you want this?" Jacqueline asked holding up the bag.

"Over there," Dutch gestured, "I'm gonna fool the system into thinking it's receiving the weekly 'This is only a test' test. And then it's lights, camera, Dr. Serious."

"You can do all that from here?" Fet asked

"Not here. This…" Dutch gestures around, "hunk of consumer electronics is just a dumb sending-receiving unit; bypassing the satcom encryption from my laptop, now that's gonna be the tricky part. That is an NSA-level hack."

Jacqueline and Fet looked at each other amazed then back at Dutch.

"I have no idea what the hell you just said," Jacqueline said amazed.

"How did you get started doing all this stuff?" Fet asked just as amazed as Jacqueline.

"It's a long story, some other time," Dutch said

Dutch and Fet started to talk and Jacqueline slipped away. She knew when it was time for her to take her leave and the two seemed to be enjoying their time together, who was she to stop their flirting. She smiled thinking it was nice that two people could connect even though the world was going to hell in a handbasket.

* * *

Jacqueline watched Eph pace back and forth as he reread over his speech.

"If you keep pacing your gonna wear hole in the floor," Jacqueline said offhandedly.

Eph ignored the girl's words and kept pacing causing her to let out an annoyed sigh. She stood up and yanked Eph's papers out of his hands.

"Hey-!"

"You need to chill out man," Jacqueline said

"Yeah, chilling out is the last thing I need," Eph said sarcastically. "Now give me those back." He reached for his notes but Jacqueline pulled them back.

"Not! Until you calm down. Winding yourself up is not going to help anyone," Eph went to say something but Jacqueline put her finger up signaling for him to be quiet. "I get it. This speech is important, big, in fact, what you say could help make or break what happens to the people of this city. But that's why you need to calm down. Take some deep breaths. You've been on TV before, getting nervous and stuttering over your words won't help anyone. The best thing you can do for everyone is to collect yourself and speak with that annoying authoritative tone you always use."

Eph let Jacqueline's words soak in and he nodded his head.

"Good. Now calm yourself," Jacqueline handed Eph his notes, "And I want you to read your speech to me the Eph way." She sat down with a smirk waiting for Eph to proceed.

* * *

Nora had gotten her mother to relax in the living room assuring the older woman everything was going to be fine. She came back in the shop to find Jacqueline and Eph alone together and they were laughing. She looked confused as the two smiled at each other. Nora let out a cough catching Jacqueline and Eph's attention.

"Hey, Nora. Hows your mother?" Eph asked

"Fine…" Nora trialed off looking between Jacqueline and Eph perplexed. Before she could say anything else Dutch and Fet strolled into the room.

"Ready for your close-up?" Dutch asked

"Do you think we should maybe do this in the morning when people are awake?" Eph asked

"They can override our feed in the TV-station control booth. We want to exploit the inexperience of the overnight shift. An extra 10 seconds of airtime can be critical, so put the good stuff at the top, yeah?" Dutch said

Dutch had Jacqueline turn on the radio and TV so they could watch and make sure Eph's broadcast was going across every channel.

Everyone's attention was taken from Dutch when they heard footsteps. They all looked to see Abraham slowly walking into the room.

"Bunic…" Jacqueline whispered as the man looked worse for wear.

"40 years ago, I came to this country...defeated. I had dedicated my life to hunting the Master and his ilk, but at that moment, I...I turned my back on that quest. The, uh...evil that had presided over this world for so many centuries had withdrawn into the shadows once again, and I...I felt I had missed my chance," Abraham revealed

"But still...we've been in your basement, the weapons, your books...you've prepared," Fet said

"I prepared, yes, I prepared granddaughter, but I had resigned myself to the reality that I would pass from this world without ever facing him again. Seeing the Master in the tunnels after all that time, I, uh...I lost perspective. I realize that now. I reacted with raging impulses, and anger, and emotion. I...I apologize. But...I have rested and I'm ready to...press ahead with the fight," Abraham said

"Bunic," Jacqueline said walking over to her grandfather. She wrapped her arms around the older man and the two shared a hug. As they embraced Abraham once again drifted off into his memories.

 _A young Abraham's hands were bleeding as he clawed his way to the top of the well. His body ached and his fingers burned as blood leaked out of them. After struggling greatly he finally reached the top of the well, the sun was high in sky signaling the new day had already started. Abraham hauled himself out of the well panting but he gave himself no time to rest as he stood up. The sound of buzzing flies caught his attention and he turned around looking over the well seeing his horse dead, its stomach cut open and its entrails displayed to the world. With a distressed look, Abraham took off running back home, back to Miriam._

 _Abraham did not stop running his breath coming out heavy and staggered as he pushed himself to run home. In no time he finally arrived back at his village making a beeline for his home._

" _Miriam! Miriam!" Abraham shouted as he threw open the door to his house. He looked around but saw no one. The house was disheveled as tables were overturned and things were thrown around. Abraham's heart clenched as he saw Miriam's crutches resting on the floor._

* * *

Jacqueline held a large camera on her shoulder holding it steady as she pointed it at Eph, while Dutch typed away on her computer.

"OK, get ready. And make sure the volume's turned off so it doesn't feedback," Dutch said

Nora nodded and turned down the volume of the television. Dutch quickly typed on her computer then there was a loud continuous beep noise as "This is only a test" appeared on the tv screen. Once the beep stopped Eph appeared on the TV.

"Oh, my God! Eph, it's working! Go! Go, Eph!" Nora exclaimed starting a stopwatch.

"My name is Dr. Ephraim Goodweather. This is not a test. I'm an epidemiologist from the Centers for Disease Control. I'm here to warn you of an urgent danger. There is a disease spreading through New York City and possibly beyond. This plague is responsible for the mysterious disappearances we've been seeing. These photographs show an autopsy I performed on one of the victims," As Eph said that Dutch quickly typed on her computer bringing up the pictures, "This strain, this virus changes its host body through a violent, corruptive metamorphosis. You can see a bizarre growth emanating from the throat forming a kind of stinger through which a worm parasite passes from the carrier to the victim." Nora made a hurry-up motion causing Eph to speed up, "In fact, your loved ones, once they are turned, once they are infected, will come after you. Sunlight kills these-" Eph didn't get to finish his sentence as the feed cut off.

"That's it. It's off. They stopped it," Nora said as the normal television programming came on.

Jacqueline lowered the camera a smile on her face, "Awesome!"

Dutch threw her hands up in a cheer, "Woo! We did it! Bloody hell! We did it, it worked!"

Everyone smiled a little hope spreading through the room. That hope was quickly squashed when a crash came from inside the apartment followed by Mariela's screams. Nora and Eph took off running, followed by Fet.

"Mama, I'm coming!" Nora shouted

Nora and Eph were the first to reach Mariela but quickly stopped in their tracks seeing a vampire over Mariela its stinger out and latched onto Mariela's neck.

"No! Mama! Mama! Mama!" Nora screamed as Eph held her back.

Fet ran in as the vampire detached himself from Mariela. He yelled swinging his crowbar aiming for the vampires head but it ducked out the way and Fet fell over an ottoman.

"Get downstairs, now!" Abraham ordered

Dutch quickly grabbed her computer running downstairs as Jacqueline ran to go help the others. She ran into the kitchen to see Eph hitting a vampire over the head with a chair then flip a table onto it. Nora screamed as she ran over to her mother clinging onto the woman. Another vampire burst through the kitchen's window. Jacqueline screamed as she kicked the vampire in the head forcing it back out the window.

"Get down to the basement now!" Jacqueline shouted

Fet picked up Mariela carrying her out the room followed by Jacqueline and a devastated Nora.

"Hurry up! Go! Go!" Eph shouted as he held back another vampire.

As the passed by the front doors Jacqueline stopped sensing something, "Shit! Move! Move! Move!" Jacqueline started pushing everyone into the basement.

Her and Abraham were the last ones to enter but they turned around to see Eichhorst standing at the entrance of the shop. Abraham shut the large door locking it, but not before hearing Eichhorst say, "Time is up, A230385!"

* * *

Everyone could hear the vampires trying to pry the door open. Zach looked scared as he clung to his dad. Dutch and Jacqueline grabbed a makeshift gurney setting it down in front of Fet, who put Mariela's body on it. Nora cried over her mother's body clinging onto the women's nightgown.

"We need to go," Abraham said

"You're not thinking of taking them on?" Eph interjected

"No, that will not work. I prepared for this, there's another way out. Secret passage through the meat locker," Abraham said

"That sounds better," Eph said

"I have to agree. Everybody, arm up," Fet said

Jacqueline ran around the room collecting weapons and supplies. "Grab all the guns and bullets, and anything with silver in it."

As everyone moved around Nora still sobbed over her mother's body, stroking her mother's hair.

Abraham slowly walked over to, "There will be a time for condolences, my dear, but...now we must flee."

"I can't leave her here. We could take her with us. Maybe there's a chance," Nora sobbed out.

Eph walked over holding a machete and put a hand on Nora's shoulder, "Go get Zack. I'll be right there. Go." Nora stood up letting out a cry as tears fell down her eyes. She looked at Eph then held her hand out, "Give it to me. Give it to me."

Eph slowly handed off the machete. Nora held it tightly in her hands facing her mother.

"Come on, let's go," Eph said leading his son towards the exit.

The sound of the vampires trying to enter got louder as they started to break through the door.

"Come on!" Jacqueline said

Jacqueline rushed everyone into the exit but stood at the entrance looking at the crying Nora. The woman continued to sob as she lifted the large weapon up. Jacqueline closed her eyes when she heard Nora scream bringing the weapon down swiftly on her mother. The room was silent for only a second before Nora resumed sobbing over her mother's death. Abraham stood behind Nora, the scene before him bring back past painful memories.

 _A dismal Abraham stood alone in his house. Rain pounded the house and thunder clapped. He had been sitting around for hours only thinking about the horrible events that will soon transpire. Abraham was finally shaken from his thoughts when a thump came from his front door. The knob of the door rattled before it slowly opened. With a grim look, Abraham looked at the intruders and his heart broke as his suspicions were confirmed. Miriam walked in the room along with two children, but they were turned. It was a heart sinking sight to see. His once beautiful wife was now a part of the Strigoi, a part of The Master. Abraham slowly stood up as Miriam walked towards him making small clicking noises, then Miriam's mouth opened launching a stinger at Abraham. Without any hesitation, Abraham thrusted his arm forward, sword in hand cutting right through Miriam's neck._

* * *

Abraham slowly walked over to Nora and took the weapon out of her hand. He wiped the blood off it looking sadly at Nora.

"It had to be done...for her," Abraham said

Nora still cried but accepted the words. She grabbed her bag and slowly walked towards the exit where Jacqueline helped the shaky Nora out the room.

Abraham stood alone in the room his mind drifting away again.

"A230385! I know you can hear me. I am coming for you and for the girl," Eichhorst said

"He is really starting to piss me off," Jacqueline mumbled heading to the exit.

Abraham walked over to his desk where the strigoi heart still sat beating.

 _Abraham had finished off the strigoi including his beloved Miriam. He dropped his sword allowing it to clatter to the ground. A shadow of grief cast over his face as he gave a prayer and vow in his native tongue. He then pulled out a knife and plunged it into Miriam's chest. With the incision made he dug into her chest and pulled out her heart. He set the heart in a jar then grabbed a newly knit yellow blanket. A blanket that was made by Miriam that supposed to be for their child when they entered the world. His sorrowful look got deeper as he cut into her stomach with the intention of getting the baby and burying it next to its mother. He reached inside the corpse and grasped onto the unborn infant pulling it out of the womb, it was a boy. He set the still infant down and grabbed the blanket but froze when he heard a soft whine. He looked towards the source of the noise and saw the baby moving and crying. Its body was pale as it flailed its tiny limbs. Abraham quickly wrapped the baby up in the blanket before bringing it close to his chest. He bounces it lightly causing the baby to stifle his cries. His eyes slowly opened revealing Miriam's green eyes, although they were rather pale. Abraham ran a finger on the baby's soft cheek as it whimpered._

" _Fiul meu...Fiul nostru, (1) " Abraham whispered holding the baby close to him._

* * *

Abraham gazed down at the still-beating heart. "Goodbye, Miriam. Till we meet again." He kissed his fingers then placed them on the jar. Abraham then reached under the table and opened a drawer. He quickly pulled out two folded pictures and opened them.

The first one was of a much younger Abraham standing in front of his pawn shop. The pawn shop had a small grand opening sign on it and Abraham gave a small smile to the camera but he wasn't alone in the picture. Standing next to him holding his hand was a small body, appearing to be a child. The child was wrapped up wearing long pants, gloves, and a hoodie with the hood pulled over. They had a scarf wrapped around their neck covering the lower half of their face only showing the child's pale green eyes. The child appears to be happy as they waved at the camera with their other hand.

The second picture featured three people. First a pale man with pale green eyes, no hair present on his head. He was clearly not human, at least not fully. Sitting next to him on a couch was a beautiful woman. She had long black hair and a soft round face. In the woman's arms was a pink bundle. A baby girl. The two adults looked elated in the picture staring at the baby.

Abraham gazed at the pictures for a moment. This was his family he created, that The Master tried to destroy. The Master has already taken his sweet Miriam and his son, he will not allow him to take away Jacqueline. Abraham folded the pictures back up and tucked them into his coat pocket.

He made his way to the exit where Jacqueline stood waiting.

"You ready?" Jacqueline asked

Abraham nodded his head. The two gave the place one last look thinking back on the memories they had here. This place was more than a bunker but it was their home. Abraham ushered Jacqueline inside and he closed the heavy door locking it.

(1) - "My son….Our son."


	7. The Master

**The Master**

Jacqueline ran her hand through her wet hair, grabbing a towel to dry the soaking locks. After the night she had a hot shower is just what she needed. The group took shelter in an abandoned apartment waiting out until daylight hit. Jacqueline wrapped a towel around her body exiting the bathroom. She headed towards her "room" but got distracted when she heard Eph's voice. He sat at a table with Abraham and Fet a map on the table.

"So why did we see all those vampires in one spot?" Eph questioned

"Safety. Without the coffin, the Master needs to be protected during daylight hours." Abraham declared

"So those 500 or 1,000 down there…" Eph trailed off.

"They were his security." All the males turned their head hearing Jacqueline's voice. Fet smirked seeing her state of dress. Eph stared for a second before turning away.

"The Master will be nesting nearby." Jacqueline walked into the dining room. She set down the towel she was using to dry her hair and picked up a pen circling an area.

Eph pointed to the area Jacqueline had circled. "So, whatever's above ground here, it's important to him. It's gotta be dark or protected."

Abraham nodded his head. "Most likely both."

"Did you just agree with me?" Eph mused

"In this instance, yes," Abraham said

Eph scoffed a small smile on his lips.

"You two are falling in love." Fet jested causing Jacqueline to smirk. "It's a beautiful thing, huh."

"Oh most definitely," Jacqueline agreed with a grin.

Eph's smile didn't leave his face.

"My vote: Reconnaissance. Now, Doc, Jack, and I, we go down to Vestry and Washington and see what's there, yeah?" Fet said

Eph stood up from the table. "And we should move." He pointed at Jacqueline. "And you should put some clothes on."

Jacqueline put her hands up, a playful smile on her lips. "I didn't hear anyone, especially you, complaining."

"Well, I'm not complaining. I like the new look. Distract the munchers by giving them a little show," Fet jested chuckling

"See," Jacqueline smirked looking at Eph.

Eph rolled his eyes, smile still on his face, as he picked up Jacqueline's towel throwing it in her face.

Fet stood up too. "We wanna burn as little daylight as possible."

Abraham agreed. "Excellent idea."

"We've got company," Jacqueline stated pointing behind her.

The men looked over to see Zach standing on the stairs.

"I heard you guys talking. What's going on?" Zach asked

Jacqueline used this time to leave to go and get dressed. She threw on her clothes and grabbed her weapons.

She grabbed her gun putting a clip in. "Whelp time to do some recon."

* * *

Fet parked the truck in an alley, across from the building they were going to investigate. Eph, Jacqueline, and Fet all got out of the vehicle heading across the street.

"That Goth douchebag." Eph cursed looking at the building reading the marquee.

Jacqueline and Fet shared confused looks as they gazed back and forth between Eph and the sign. They finally spotted the small marquee sign on the building for a Gothic singer named Bolivar.

"Uh, share the wealth, Doc?" Fet said trying to get an answer from Eph's previous statement.

"Bolivar?" Eph gestured to the sign. "The one who attacked Nora's mother. He was one of the four survivors on the plane. He said he was buying a theater in Tribeca. He's living there."

Fet let out a whistle. "He bought the Vestry, huh? Oh, this place goes all the way back to vaudeville, you know? And since then, it's been a silent movie theater, Yiddish stage, speakeasy, uh, burlesque house." He mused giving the two a wink. "This boulevard is one of the Master's favorite vamps."

"Then there's a high probability the Master's inside," Eph said

"Probability's not gonna cut it, Doc. We need to know for sure, you know?" Fet said

Jacqueline kept looking at the sign. "You know I think that guy hit on me at a bar once."

"Of course he did." Fet joked sending a wink to Jacqueline. Jacqueline playful shoved his shoulder. Fet continued to smirk as he walked back into the alleyway. Eph and Jacqueline following him.

"What?" Eph questioned as Fet walked over to a door.

"You know how I said that theater used to be a speakeasy?" Fet said

"Yeah, and?" Eph questioned

Fet kicked open the door surprising the two. "Yeah." He walked inside followed by Jacqueline and Eph, entering a small empty restaurant.

"In the 20s, this place was called Hawk's Tavern. It was run by a gambler named Diamond Jim O'Brien who also owned the Vestry Hall across the way. But Diamond Jim, he was a legend during the Manhattan bootleg wars because his place had been raided so many times but never found any booze. You know why?" Fet said

"I don't need to, you're going to tell me," Eph said

"They never found any booze because he built a secret tunnel, a tunnel that he connected to the sewer tunnel that connected to the theater, huh? That's how they ran the booze back and forth." Fet explained

"Smart," Jacqueline said

The three made their way downstairs to the storage room. They flicked on the lights and saw nothing present in the room other than shelved food.

"No vampires. That's a good sign." Fet mused feeling along the wall. "He used to have, uh, secret latches to unlock the door." As Fet kept feeling around Eph looked up spotting a rope on the wall.

He reached up and grabbed the rope giving it a tug. There was a loud clicking noise as a secret door opened.

"Not bad," Fet commented

"Alcoholic's sixth sense for booze," Eph said

Fet walked to the door taking his gun out of his bag.

"What are you doing? We're not going in there without back-up," Eph said

"I'm your back-up. We got weapons." Fet said

"We have 45 bullets between the three of us. We don't know what's on the other side of that door," Eph said

"It's just recon, Doc, you know? A little sneak and peek. Come on." Fet said

Eph sighs pulling out his flashlight. Jacqueline opens the door leading the way due to her having better night vision.

"There it is. The old sewer tunnel," Fet pointed out.

He opened the door and everyone walked in. Jacqueline was the first to react grabbing her nose making a gagging noise.

"Sweet mother of-!" Jacqueline gagged again trying to hold her breath to escape the horrid smell. The nasty odor finally hit Eph and Fet, and they covered their noses too making displeased faces.

"Whoa. Look, smell and listen, huh?" Fet shined his flashlight across the tunnel. "Look over this way. Look at this!" He walked over to what looked like a dumbwaiter. "Wow! To haul liquor up and down during prohibition. This is our stop." He spotted a ladder and started climbing up. "Come on up. Coast is clear."

Eph turned to Jacqueline, "Ladies first."

"Yeah I don't think so," Jacqueline countered

Eph looked at the girl confused until she gestured to the skirt she was wearing.

"Right," Eph said before climbing up the ladder. Once he was up Jacqueline climbed and the two men helped haul her up and onto solid ground.

They now appeared to be in a backstage area of the theater. With cautious steps, they explored the area. They crept up a flight of stairs making their way to another room.

Fet spotted something and gestures quickly to the other two. They looked in the room taking in what Fet had discovered.

"Coffin," Eph whispered, "They're reassembling it."

"The Master must be around here somewhere. Huh?" Fet said

The two men tried to get a better look in the room but Jacqueline quickly grabbed their arms pulling them back. She put a finger to her lips and pointed to a corner of the room. The two looked over to see what she was pointing at, and in a pile sleeping was vampires nesting for the day.

One of them sat up and started walking around, once one was up a second one got up sniffing around the room too. It sniffed the air hobbling its way to where the three were hiding.

"Okay, that's enough recon," Eph said

* * *

Eph ran out of the restaurant's back door into the alleyway Jacqueline and Fet right behind him.

"Let's get the others while it's still daylight," Eph said

Fet ignored him and brought his rebar walking down the alleyway.

"What the hell are you doing?" Eph looked at Jacqueline. "What the hell is he doing?"

Jacqueline shrugged her shoulders as she and Eph trailed after Fet.

Fet bent down and used his rebar to pry open a manhole cover. "The secret to all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious. Marcus Aurelius. We're gonna flood the sewer tunnels with sunlight. We don't want any more monsters to get into the theater before we come back."

"Oh, that is a really good idea," Jacqueline said

Once the manhole cover was off the three ran off.

* * *

Jacqueline, Eph, and Fet walked back into their hideout just in time to see Dutch throwing a remote at some computer screens.

She paused when she finally noticed the three newcomers in the room.

"I am trying to gauge the impact of our pirate broadcast, but all the channels are gone," Dutch explained

"Well, I think that's your answer, right there," Eph said

Dutch just looked back at the blank screens before taking a swing out of the vodka bottle she was holding. She handed it over to Eph who gave the bottle a stare before dumping it in a potted plant.

"What-!" Dutch gaped displeased.

"That's not good for the plant you know," Jacqueline jeered

Eph ignored the comment handing the empty bottle back to Dutch, "We've got work to do."

* * *

Jacqueline followed Eph and her grandfather upstairs to where Zach was. The young boy was occupying his time by playing a game on his mother's phone.

"Hey, Zach. Turn that off?" Eph said sitting next to his son.

Abraham sat across from Zach as Jacqueline remained standing.

"What's up?" Zach asked setting down the phone.

"We're leaving. All of us, including you." Eph said

Jacqueline pulled something out and handed it over to Zach.

"Son, this is for you. It is very sharp, very dangerous. Handle it with great care." Abraham said

Zach grabbed the object revealing it to be a short sword. He pulled it out of its sheath examining the sharp object.

"This weapon is forged from silver. Silver burns vampires," Eph said

"Here kid." Jacqueline came behind Zach and adjusted his hands so that he was gripping the sword properly. "You hold it with both hands, and make sure to always keep a firm grip." Jacqueline made Zach stand up and put him a proper stance. "Now the first thing you'll wanna do is show them that you have silver. They fear it, but remember to never let your guard down. Always keep your eyes and ears open." As Jacqueline explained she could feel the nervousness rolling off Eph, but he knew that this was the right thing for Zach if he was going to survive.

"If you have to attack you gotta hit here." Jacqueline brought Zach's sword so it was pointing across the neck. "Cut right for the neck. If you can't reach then go for the other vital points." Jacqueline gestured to a few spots lower on her body where Zach would be able to reach with his height.

"Where there is no bone. The blade goes deeper. Quick thrusts in and out, in, out." Abraham added

"Thanks, Bunic. I think he gets it." Jacqueline said gently.

"You know why we're doing this, right?" Eph asked Zach.

"Yeah," Zach responded

"Since the beginning of creation, boys have hunted beside their fathers. This is no different." Abraham said

"This is very different." Eph snapped. "We're fighting to protect each other. We're going to get through this. And we're going to win."

* * *

Soon the group found themselves back at the restaurant crossing to through the secret tunnel to get to the theater.

"Remember, he will use whatever advantage he can against us. Whatever you see, whatever you hear, do not stop until the Master is defeated." Abraham warned

They opened the secret door going into the sewer tunnel. As soon as they entered they all heard growling and hissing.

"I knew it!" Fet said

The manhole cover Fet had lifted up to let in sunlight was a good idea because crowded together was a mess of Strigoi that couldn't make their way back to the theater due to their pathway being blocked by light shining down.

"Nice, huh?" Fet smirked

One of the Strigoi tried to step forward but it hissed and pulled back as the sun sizzled its skin.

"They won't hold. Now they've seen us, they'll push through, sacrificing however many it takes so the others can get through," Abraham said

"Remember when I, uh, went back to my place that one time?" Fet reached into his bag pulling out two stick-shaped objects. "I grabbed a few things. I've been saving these babies."

"Is that…"

"Dynamite, yes. It's, uh, a common exterminating tool," Eph said to his son with an uncertain tone.

Fet lit the explosives. "You flatter me, Doc. You guys might want to get back in the tunnel. Munchers are going boom-boom."

Everyone rushed back into the tunnel.

"Fire in the hole, vermin!" Fet shouted before tossing the dynamite. Once they were out of his hand he ran back to the tunnel closing the door.

Three explosions went off followed by the shrieking of Strigoi. Jacqueline held her now ringing ears shaking her head. "Damn that was loud," She whispered

Fet opened the door back up and peered into the room. "Good. Come on, we're good! Cover your nose. Ammonia overload."

The group continues on making their way into the theater. Entering the venue they were quickly greeted by several Strigoi.

 _"Woodcarver…"_

Abraham hears the whisper of the Master, but Jacqueline too also hears it. Her head quickly whipped around trying to find the source of the voice.

"You're hearing him, aren't you?" Eph said

"Now it's his turn to hear me!" Abraham held up his sword. "Let's finish this."

Strigoi were everywhere with their feral snarls and hissing, they were ready to for a fight.

"Spread out and attack!" Abraham commanded

Gunshots rang out as two Strigoi went down. Nora yelled as she swiftly chopped a vampire's head off.

Jacqueline stabbed a Strigoi in the head while at the same time shooting one in the chest. She pulled her sword out of the first Strigoi and swiftly turned around chopping the other one's head off.

A Strigoi dressed in ladies business attire shambled towards them and Eph went to aim for it, but he was blocked by Dutch standing in his way.

"Dutch!" Eph shouted

"No, wait! It's Jaimie. She works at a gallery in SoHo." Dutch had her gun pointed at the Strigoi previously known as Jaimie. Her gun shook as Jaimie got closer. "Oh, God! Bloody hell!" Dutch screams as she lowered her gun and stabbed Jaimie with her sword. Eph steps up swinging his sword cutting the Strigoi's head clean off.

Abraham pulled the sword out of his cane and slit a Strigoi's throat almost taking its head off completely. "Keep moving!"

"Go find him, Professor!" Fet shouted. Abraham looked back giving the man a nod. "You too, Doc. We'll handle these monsters. Now, aim for the head!"

"Like that!" Dutch shouted shooting at Strigoi that had gotten too close to Zach.

"Dad!" Zach shouted

"Come on! Let's go!" Fet grabbed his son's arm pulling him close. "I got you, Zach. Come on!"

 _"Kleiner…."_

Jacqueline tried to keep her head in the game pushing past the voice that was calling out to her. She took out her gun shooting a Strigoi.

 _"Kleiner…."_

But she could clearly hear the loud whisper in her head and it kept getting louder.

 _"Kleiner….come to me Kleiner….Kleiner, Kleiner, Kleiner, Kleiner!"_

"Gah! Get out of my head!" Jacqueline screamed stabbing a Strigoi.

* * *

Shots rang out through the theater as Strigoi after Strigoi was taken out. The group's luck seemed to be dropping when a new wave of Strigoi came in accompanied by Eichhorst. Fet aimed his gun shooting at Eichhorst but all he got was the click of an empty gun.

"Shit!" Fet shouted

Eichhorst walked towards Fet with a cocky look but that was quickly wiped off when Dutch shot him in the shoulder.

"Ms. Velders! So I'll drink you first," Eichhorst said

"Yeah, try it, asshole!" Dutch yelled before shooting Eichhorst in the other shoulder.

Fet ran at the vampire sword raised but Eichhorst easily deflects the attack knocking Fet to the ground. Fet stood back up jumping on Eichhorst's back putting the vampire in a choke hold.

Meanwhile, Nora and Jacqueline were slashing and shooting at any Strigoi that got near them. One of the Strigoi shot its stinger out at Nora. She dodged it doing a roll and in a crouched position she swung her sword up cutting its stinger off.

"Nice one!" Jacqueline complimented

Jacqueline ducked under a Strigoi that lunged at her sliding between its legs, she stood back up stabbing it in the back of the head.

After some struggling Eichhorst was finally able to throw Fet off his back. Eichhorst stood over the man opening his mouth to let out his stinger.

"Hey!"

Eichhorst turned his head only to be met with a kick to the face. He let out a scream staggering back from the woman. He was grabbing at the side of his face that was now sizzling.

"How'd you do that?" Dutch asked

Jacqueline smirked, "Silver in the soles of my boots."

Before Eichhorst could recover Fet pulled out his nail gun shooting the man three times on the other side of his face. He let out another cry as the silver nails embed themselves in his face continuing to burn him.

"Come on!" Fet shouted

Suddenly Eichhorst stopped moving his eyes glowing red.

Jacqueline stopped moving too as sudden pain surging through her head. She felt like the room was spinning, and she could feel her vision getting spotty.

 _"Come to me!"_ The Master commanded calling all the Strigoi.

The rest of the Strigoi stopped moving then like robots they started moving backwards out of the room.

Everyone looked confused until they heard a shrill cry. Fet, Nora, and Dutch looked over to see Jacqueline tears going down her cheeks as she held her head.

Fet walked over to the girl, "You okay?"

"It hurts…." Jacqueline groaned clenching her teeth.

Fet reached out to put a hand on her shoulder but without warning, Jacqueline's body went limp, and she drops to the ground.

* * *

Jacqueline laid on the floor as her body started violently shaking.

"What's wrong with her?!" Dutch shouted staring down at Jacqueline.

Fet and Nora bent down to examine Jacqueline. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as her body kept convulsing.

"It's like she's having a seizure," Nora said

"What do we do?" Fet asked

"We have to-"

Nora was cut off when Jacqueline's back arched back dramatically and her mouth opened. She let out a loud inhuman shriek, causing everyone to cover their ears.

Jacqueline then suddenly stopped screaming and her body flung forward, as she started vomiting a pink milky like substance.

"Whoa whoa!" Fet said holding Jacqueline patting her back.

Jacqueline choked and coughed until she was finished. She wiped off her mouth and slowly looked up at everyone. Her body was shaking, she looked pale, well paler than normal. She grabbed onto Fet clinging to him like a scared child.

"Are you okay?" Dutch asked

"I-I don't k-know…."

* * *

Nora, Dutch, and Fet, who was carrying Jacqueline bridal style, went upstairs to where Abraham, Eph, and Zach had gone. Jacqueline's brow was sweaty, and she was giving ragged shaky breaths. Her eyes were half-lidded like she was drained or tired. They made their way to an attic-like space, all the windows had been broken letting the sun in. There was a large set of windows in the very back going out to a balcony.

"Where is he?" Nora asked

"He ran down the building and disappeared," Eph said

Abraham, who had a stunned look of disbelief on his face, sat down.

"In direct sunlight?" Fet said not believing it.

"In direct sunlight," Eph echoed back.

"I thought that couldn't happen. I thought sunlight would kill him!" Fet said

"What he did, I...did not know he was capable of doing," Abraham said

"But you injured him, right? I mean, that's why the others ran off?" Dutch said

"I was wrong," Abraham said

"Well, if sunlight doesn't kill him, what does?" Eph questioned out loud.

"We're lost," Abraham said

* * *

Everyone loaded back up in the truck driving away from the theater.

"We'll go to my place to," Fet said driving the truck. "I have tools."

In the back of the truck, Jacqueline was unconscious her body slumped against Dutch. Zach was sitting next to Nora, but the boy was hyperventilating.

"Zach, where's your inhaler?" Nora asked

Zach didn't answer and looked up at his father, both knowing and not liking the answer to that question.

Fet pulled the truck up to Zach's home.

"The extra inhalers are in there. Wait two minutes," Eph said getting out.

"Make it one, Doc," Fet replied

Zach and Eph both got out of the truck going inside the house. Everyone sat silently in the truck today's events really taking a toll on the mood.

After a minute or two gunshots could be heard coming from the house, followed by Zach's cries. Everyone minus, Jacqueline, ran out of the truck running into the house.

Once they got in they spotted Eph holding a crying Zach close to him.

"Mom…" Zach cried

"She was here?" Nora asked

"Why aren't there any more coming?" Fet questioned

"There will be. She won't stop. Not until she gets what she wants. The Master will use your wife, her love for your boy." Abraham said

Zach sat on the ground holding a photo album close to his chest crying. Eph walked over to a cabinet pulling out a bottle of whiskey.

"Eph...don't," Nora said as Eph poured a glass.

"He'll use your wife's love for her son to pursue us," Abraham said

"Don't," Nora said as Eph picked up the glass.

"To the ends of the earth, if necessary," Abraham continued

Eph took his drink throwing it back drinking it in one gulp. "Let him try."

* * *

Jacqueline laid in a bed she was still her eyes closed, and she seemed to be asleep.

"Now tell me again what happened?" Eph asked

"She said her head hurt then she fell to the ground all shaky," Fet said

"Then she started screeching like a banshee and then vomited this weird goo shit," Dutch added

"She seemed like she was having a seizure," Nora included

Abraham stood off to the side watching Jacqueline.

Nora reached down putting a hand on the back of Jacqueline's head.

"She has a fever," Nora said

"Can she even get sick?" Dutch said

"It would seem so," Fet said

"Do you know what's wrong with her?" Eph asked Abraham.

"It would appear Jacqueline's connection to The Master is stronger than I had perceived," Abraham simply said

"Okay well that helps a lot," Eph said

"Right now we're just going to have to monitor her." Nora took out an ice pack putting it on Jacqueline's forehead.

Jacqueline laid still the only part of her body moving was her chest going up and down. Abraham watched his granddaughter in fear of what was going to befall her in the future.


End file.
